Alex Karaban finishes historic career, leaves UConn better than he found it

INDIANAPOLIS — Starting guards Solo Ball and Silas Demary Jr. were each whistled for two quick fouls in Connecticut’s 69-63 loss to Michigan in the national championship game of the men’s NCAA Tournament, changing the complexion of a matchup the Huskies hoped could be won on the perimeter.

Nursing a foot injury suffered in the national semifinal against Illinois, Ball finished with 11 points in 16 minutes. Demary lasted just 21 minutes, scoring one bucket before being called for his fifth foul with just over a minute to play.

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“I just thought that the first-half foul trouble, really, I thought we were positioned if we didn’t have that foul trouble to potentially go into halftime with a lead,” coach Dan Hurley said.

Forward Tarris Reed Jr. had 13 points and 14 rebounds but was bothered by the defense of Michigan’s Aday Mara and made just 4 of 12 attempts from the field, his worst shooting performance since missing all three shots in a regular-season matchup against Illinois late November. Guard Braylon Mullins had 11 points on 4 of 17 shooting and made 3 of 10 attempts from 3-point range.

The main reason UConn stayed close with Michigan was the same reason UConn was here in the first place: Playing in the final game of his college career, senior forward Alex Karaban had a team-high 17 points and 11 rebounds while adding two assists and two steals.

“So it hurts right now. It hurts a lot right now,” he said.

Connecticut forward Alex Karaban (11) walks off the court as Michigan celebrates after winning the 2026 NCAA men’s tournament national championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026.

Crucially, Karaban played all 40 minutes, continuing to serve as the Huskies’ steadying force in his final March Madness experience.

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“For coach to play me 40 minutes, I can’t thank him enough,” Karaban said. “That’s all I wanted. That’s all I wanted, is to give everything I got, leave everything I’ve got out there and try to do everything to help us win.”

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Publish date : 2026-04-07 09:57:00

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