UConn men take down No. 16 Michigan in intense national championship rematch at TD Garden, 85-77

Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant on Nov 6, 2026

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BOSTON — There was only one game of separation between the national championship and its rematch on Friday night in Boston, so the intensity didn’t have much time to fade.

And it created quite the atmosphere in a packed TD Garden, where No. 4 UConn’s string of nonconference battles got off to an impressive start, taking down the 16th-ranked reigning champ Michigan, 85-77, in the Naismith Hall of Fame Series on the Celtics’ parquet floor.

Silas Demary Jr., who was essentially taken out of the championship game by the whistle, was sure to make his mark this time around as he paced the Huskies with 21 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Braylon Mullins provided 23 points with four rebounds and freshman Colben Landrew continued to shine with 14 points and eight rebounds in just his second college game.

Jayden Ross scored nine while Na’jai Hines and Nik Khamenia provided seven points apiece as the Huskies (2-0) shot 41.8% from the field, 9 for 22 (40.9%) from 3 and 30 for 36 (83.3%) from the foul line.

It was UConn’s second consecutive win in the Hall of Fame Series after Demary also led the charge in holding off No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa and BYU at the Boston Garden last season.

After taking only three shots from the field in UConn’s opener, the Huskies point guard took initiative early Friday night, driving hard to the rim and pulling up to make his first 3-pointer of the season after Mullins electrified the building with his second of the game, coming off an assist from Khamenia after a Ross offensive rebound.

The intensity – fueled by memories of the raised stage in Indianapolis – went a little too far as Wolverines point guard Elliot Cadeau, the Final Four Most Outstanding Player, got into a shoving match with Ross after finishing a three-point play, leading to double technical fouls.

Meanwhile, Demary and Mullins combined to score 21 of the Huskies’ first 25 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field.

But foul trouble was an issue. The rest of UConn’s starters — Khamenia, Hines and Ross — had two fouls apiece just over 10 minutes into the game. Mullins was whistled for his first and second in a 30-second span and went to the bench with eight minutes left in the half.

By the time the Huskies got to the line for their second foul shot, after a three-point play from Demary around the six-minute mark, Michigan had already made eight of nine freebies and cut its deficit to two. Hurley and the Huskies’ bench, perplexed when the Huskies were called for their 13th foul when Michigan only had six, earned their first technical of the season. And the “Storrs North” crowd followed their leader, making it sound like a 30-0 run was happening while the Wolverines missed three of the ensuing four free throw attempts.

UConn closed the half on a 9-0 run with seven points from the freshman, Landrew, who nailed a transition 3-pointer that extended the Huskies’ largest lead of the game to 13 points at halftime, 43-30.

Ross hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the second half as the lead swelled to 18.

But the fouls continued to leave Hurley juggling his lineup. And Hines, who picked up his third about three minutes into the first half, didn’t attempt a shot until he was fouled on a dunk attempt with 12 minutes to play.

Michigan’s Trey McKenney, who missed his first eight shots from the field, started to heat up as Cadeau went to the bench with his fourth foul. McKenney made four shots in a row, three from beyond the arc, and halved UConn’s lead to nine with nine minutes to play. He scored all 20 of his points in the second half.

The technical foul count was evened up at two a piece as Michigan coach Mike Boynton Jr. picked up one of his own with eight minutes to play, arguing a foul as UConn grabbed the momentum back with a put-back dunk from Hines and a 3-pointer from Khamenia. The tech proved costly as Mullins made four straight free throws to make it a 16-point game again.

UConn’s nonconference schedule continues Monday with Wagner — Hurley’s first college head coaching stop — at Gampel Pavilion on Monday (7 p.m.) and another Big Ten matchup against Ohio State on Friday night (7:30 p.m.) in Hartford.