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UConn Men's Basketball: 4 Takeaways about Opening Win
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- UConn Men's Basketball: 4 Takeaways about Opening Win
(David Butler II-Imagn Images)
Dan Hurley reached another career milestone Monday night as his No. 4 UConn Huskies defeated Gardner-Webb of the Big South conference 86-46 – the 200th win for Hurley since he took over the program ahead of the 2018-19 season.
His record with UConn now stands at 200-75 (.727). His win total ranks a very distant second in program history to Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member Jim Calhoun, whose teams put up a 625-243 (.720) record from 1986-2012, but if the opener is any indication, many more wins are to come.
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(Postgame, he wasn't all that happy with the team's performance. More on that Tuesday.)
Here are four takeaways from opening night at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Conn.
Braylon Mullins is back…
Mullins sat out much of the summer and the first two preseason games with an undisclosed injury, but on Monday, it did not look as if he had missed a day.
He played with energy and emotion, finishing the night 7-for-12 shooting – four of those baskets came from 3-point range – with a team-high 20 points in 25 minutes.
…and his roommate has arrived
Nik Khamenia, a Duke transfer, has the tough task of filling the shoes of program icon Alex Karaban. And he is rooming with Mullins, the player who hit the dagger off a Karaban assist to beat Duke in the Elite Eight in March.
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Against Gardner-Webb, Khamenia was all over the court, clearly having adopted the UConn way of doing business on both offense and defense.
He scored 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting with six rebounds and three assists.
The freshmen
Colben Landrew and Junior County enrolled at UConn with high expectations, and they lived up to them in their debuts.
He only had one assist, but County showed signs that as the season progresses, he should be a reliable understudy to point guard Silas Demary Jr.
And Landrew displayed immense poise. His first college game was not too big for him.
Landrew was one of four Huskies to finish in double figures. He scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting and added five rebounds and three assists.
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County had five points and three rebounds. Both he and Landrew had one steal.
The centers
Tarris Reed Jr. and Eric Riebe were a strong duo in 2025-26, but sophomore transfers Na'jai Hines and Oskar Giltay demonstrated the potential to become worthy successors.
Hines turned in a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds and added three blocks in 22 minutes.
Giltay had seven points, three rebounds and two blocks in 17 minutes.
What should please Hurley was their ability to stay out of foul trouble – something they struggled with as a tandem in the first two preseason games, especially. Hines was whistled twice and Giltay just once.
