Although the Huskies thrived in their last game without their leading scorer — thanks to Jaylin Stewart stepping up big time — things aren’t looking so great for UConn heading into their showdown with Baylor. Alex Karaban is out again. But we do have good news as a return date might not be too far off.

During UConn’s tough loss to Dayton at the Maui Invitational on Saturday, Karaban suffered a head injury. With about 2½ minutes left in the game, the forward hit his head on the floor after being fouled. He was taken to the hospital, cleared to fly back to Connecticut, and has been doing light activity while supporting his team. A couple of days in and the HC has a little positive update, albeit with disappointments. 

Coach Hurley initially confirmed that Karaban won’t suit up for the Big 12-Big East Battle against No. 15 Baylor. “He’s still not feeling quite himself,” the coach shared. However, it is not all worse. “He is feeling better today, but you know, not well enough to get out of that to be healthy with the protocol.” 

Before his injury, Karaban was playing to the expectations as the most experienced on the team, sinking four of UConn’s eight three-pointers and scoring 15 of his game-high 21 points in the first half. They still lost 85-67, though. Since then, the redshirt junior, who’s been lighting it up this season with 15.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, is sorely missed. But coach Hurley has previously assured that there is nothing to worry about. 

“It was a pretty mild concussion… All of his tests were really clean,” he had said after the injury. Given the double confirmation, there is a sliver of hope for Sunday’s game against Texas. Fingers crossed, we’ll see him back on the court. 

This will only be the second game that Karaban misses in his third season with the Huskies. He is expected to be the season’s star, to say the least. As the only one who has lived each moment of winning two championships back-to-back with Hurley, he knows what it takes.

Undoubtedly, he has been at the forefront from the start, bagging 20 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and 7 in the opener itself. But that doesn’t mean other Huskies don’t know how to get the job done. And they showed it in the last 99-45 win against Maryland. 

Who will fill in Alex Karaban’s place?

In their starting forward’s absence, Jaylin Stewart started his career’s first game with a bang, scoring 16 points against Maryland. Along with him, Liam McNeeley added 16 points, and Solo Ball 12 points. The team took the lead in the initial minutes and never looked back. 

Well, they had to, after three consecutive heartbreaking losses. The Maui Invitational has been quite a shocker for the Huskies. In just one week, their rankings dropped from No.2 to 25. But this is just the start; we have a whole season ahead. The Huskies we know will surely make up for it. And they seem on standby for the same. 

Stewart is ready for the challenge, but the head coach knows it will take a full-team effort to fill the void left by Alex Karaban. “If we want to have a chance to win this game, some people are going to have to announce themselves in college basketball,” he said. He made it clear that the Solo Balls, Liam McNeeleys, Tarris Reeds, Jayden Rosses, and J-Stew, all of them will need to play at a “high level.” According to Stewart, the team members have put their trust in him, and he is going to give it his best.

 “A.K. [Karaban] finds any way to win, and that’s my job now,” he said.

Still, he isn’t alone in needing to elevate his game. Because per the head coach, this team is still young, and even McNeeley admitted how Alex brings on both sides of the ball. But if the last game was any indication, UConn’s bench is more than prepared. With a collective team effort, let’s see how they replicate that same energy against Baylor.