Story byJoe Arruda, Hartford CourantMon, December 15, 2025 at 11:36 PM UTC·5 min readHARTFORD – The UConn men’s basketball team has never lost in 11 all-time meetings against Butler, but the Bulldogs have come close to ending that streak multiple times in recent years. They will meet again in Hartford on Monday as the Huskies begin Big East play in the same building where Jahmyl Telfort and Finley Bizjack pushed them to their limit last January, combining for 42 points and forcing overtime, where UConn squeaked out a two-point victory. They had already played a tight, four-point game at Hinkle Fieldhouse just a few weeks prior. AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementNow UConn has built another championship-caliber roster and made it through its nonconference gauntlet with only one blemish – a four-point loss to Arizona, the current top-ranked team in the country. And Butler, which is still led by the sharpshooter Bizjack (18.8 points per game and 38.9% from deep) and new Gonzaga transfer Michael Ajayi (17.4 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists per game), has a group that figures to be much better than its preseason 10th-place in the league’s coaches’ poll.“They look like a team that’s ready to compete at the top of the league and look like a team that’s got legitimate NCAA Tournament – they did well enough in the nonconference that I think they’re in the mix to be an at-large team if they have a good enough Big East,” coach Dan Hurley said. It was Ajayi and Bizjack who combined for 54 points in the Bulldogs’ Big East-opening win in double-overtime over Providence on Saturday.
