On Saturday, the Georgetown University men’s basketball team (9-9, 1-6 BIG EAST) faced off against the University of Connecticut Huskies (18-1, 8-0 BIG EAST) in a highly contested regular season match, ultimately ending in a loss for the Hoyas. The day’s result extends their losing streak to five games, a tough statistic for a team now in the second half of its season.
At tip-off, UConn immediately took control of the game with senior center Tarris Reed Jr. and junior guard Silas Demary Jr. putting up two points apiece within the first minute. The Hoyas struggled to settle into the game, highlighted by a blocked layup attempt by sophomore forward Isaiah Abraham. Reed then capitalized on a missed Hoya three-pointer and tacked on a second driving layup, forcing Georgetown to quickly use their first timeout to stop the initial bleed.
The Hoyas soon ramped up their intensity: a silky give-and-go from graduate guard Jeremiah Williams to sophomore center Julias Halaifonua resulted in Georgetown’s first score three minutes into the game. Tight defense and a definitive block from junior guard KJ Lewis slowed UConn’s opening momentum and resulted in a shot-clock violation against the Huskies at the 14-minute mark.
The Hoyas, however, still showed signs of early game jitters with several sloppy dribbling drives and subsequent unanswered points. It took until the seventh minute for Williams to help the Hoyas close the nine-point gap—dropping in a sweet and-1 and cashing in the well-earned free throw to cut the deficit to six. Teams traded missed jumpers on either end of the court until sophomore forward Jayden Fort’s putback pulled the Hoyas to within four.
UConn responded with a quick layup, yet Hoya senior center Vince Iwuchukwu had the final word, energizing the lively student section with a monstrous dunk. A media timeout at the halfway point in the first half had the entire arena swag surfing, likely due to a combination of Iwuchukwu’s dominant presence in the paint and a Coca-Cola-induced sugar high. Plenty of signs flashed throughout the student section too; one with the words “UCONN’T DO THAT” popped up after Demary Jr. hacked at Georgetown junior guard Malik Mack.
With just under seven minutes left in the half, UConn freshman center Eric Reibe committed two back-to-back personal fouls, eliciting some classic ire from Head Coach Dan Hurley. Reibe’s transgressions were not UConn’s only fouling woes: Hurley cracked that Demary Jr. needed to “go back into foul rehab” after the game.
A handful of shooting fouls, blocked layups, and missed shots frustrated Georgetown until Williams sank two free throws to bring the score to 26-32 with under a minute left in the half. Both teams exchanged a few unfruitful possessions, but Georgetown left the floor at halftime riding high on a fabulous fast-break dunk by Fort as the clock expired.
Both frustrated and motivated by their first-half performance, Georgetown started off the second half strong, scoring eight unanswered points. This pushed them past the Huskies for their first and largest point lead of the game at 36-32. Such hope for the crowd of nearly 18,000, however, did not last long. A foul by Williams gifted UConn two free throw points—suddenly, the two teams were biting at each other’s heels once more.
Shots were traded back and forth until the game was tied at 40-40 with 13:14 remaining. Game officials then ruled an overthrown pass from Williams a turnover, despite outraged objections from Coach Cooley and the rest of the Hoyas that the ball had been tipped.
With 6:47 to go, Halaifonua’s fifth personal foul forced him out of the game and paved the way for UConn to bring its lead up to three. Four minutes later, Georgetown turned a rare missed free throw from UConn’s fifth-year forward Alex Karaban into two points by Mack to trail 55-60.
The back end of the second half was characterized by a multi-minute scoring drought and a dominant UConn defense stifling any Georgetown attempts to cut inside. Mack, unfazed by the mere 46 seconds left on the clock, translated a UConn kicked ball into a three-pointer to cut UConn’s lead to four.
With 14 seconds ticking down, Lewis put up a potential game-tying shot from outside the arc but fell just short, which seemed to be a microcosm of the Hoyas’ season as of late. Georgetown was ultimately unable to catch UConn’s edge, resulting in a 64-62 loss.
KJ Lewis and Vince Iwuchukwu entered the post-game press conference with heartbreak painted across their faces, which is understandable, yet perhaps undeserved. The Hoyas played a well-fought game from the jump and came away with many positives.
Coach Ed Cooley noted, “I don’t see a good record, but I see a good team,” and underscored multiple times how the Hoyas stand “right there” on the precipice of a breakthrough. His seemingly positive attitude on Saturday starkly contrasted his press conference last week after a loss to Seton Hall.
A swarming Hoya defense kept UConn star Karaban to only seven points, an unusually quiet performance that he will be sure to gloss over in his NBA draft portfolio. Iwuchukwu’s inside presence was formidable for all of his 30 minutes on the court, snatching 14 rebounds and scoring a team-high (tie) 12 points.
Cooley remarked that his team was trending in the right direction in terms of ball movement and team chemistry, specifically highlighting the “we” mentality of the players in their recent conversations.
With Saturday’s win, Dan Hurley celebrated his 51st birthday weekend in style: UConn had its cake and ate it too in this dominant display. Georgetown should look ahead fiercely, with this epic battle proving that their record does not reflect their full potential.
They will go on the road this Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. EST against the University of Villanova Wildcats (14-4, 5-2 BIG EAST), hoping to find an end to their current losing streak. Viewers can stream the game on Peacock.
https://georgetownvoice.com/2026/01/18/georgetown-falls-short-in-dogfight-with-uconn/