Alex Karaban scored 21 and Liam McNeeley added 17 to help No. 11 Conn to avoid a road upset at Butler 78-74 on Saturday in Indianapolis.
The Huskies (10-3) won their sixth straight.
The Bulldogs (7-6) got within two in the final minutes, but two consecutive 3-pointers from Karaban gave UConn a five-point lead, 74-69, with 59 seconds to play.
The Huskies then knocked down all four of their free throws — two by Hassan Diarra with 15 seconds left and two by McNeely with 6 seconds left — to ice the game.
Butler battled back from a 16-point deficit to tie the game late in the second half. The Bulldogs were within two with 8 seconds to play.
Andre Screen led Butler with a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds. Patrick McCaffery also scored 17 and Pierre Brooks II added 13.
Connecticut stormed ahead early, thanks in part to the Bulldogs’ Jahmyl Telfort missing his first six shots from the floor before being benched.
Butler stormed back, however, to cut the deficit to six as UConn went on a 6-of-7 run on first down.
Telfort then came off the bench and hit five, including a 3-pointer to bring Butler within three late in the first half.
The Huskies then closed the half strong, going on a 6-0 run while the Bulldogs missed 7 of 8 shots. Conn led 42-33 at halftime.
Conn shot exactly 50 percent from the floor in the half (16 of 32), including 6 of 11 from deep. Butler stayed in it with just one turnover, a stretch that has troubled the Bulldogs this season.
In the second half, Butler was knocked down and got up again and again.
The Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run to take a 51-46 lead. The Huskies responded and pushed it back to double digits, but Butler never gave up.
An 8-0 run from Butler tied the game at 63 with 4:43 left in regulation.
Conn remains undefeated against Butler in program history, improving to 10-0 in all 10 matchups dating back to 2011.
–Field Level Media
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