Being the defending champions and a favorite to win it all again this season, the Boston Celtics currently hold second place in the Eastern Conference standings. Much of their success can be attributed to head coach Joe Mazzulla, who has evolved from a bench liability to a crucial asset for the team. But seems like the only other games he watches apart from the Celtics’, are from the Big East.

The championship-winning coach recently made headlines with a surprising admission about his viewing habits. “I add to that, I don’t watch NBA games. I’m just as much of a problem as everyone else,” he confessed, while discussing the declining NBA viewership. But looks like it’s only the league that’s missing him as the viewer. For shortly after his remark, Mazzula made a notable appearance courtside at a UConn men’s basketball game.

His visit coincided with UConn coach Dan Hurley being honored for his 300th career win against Gonzaga and players Alex Karaban and Aidan Mahaney being recognized for reaching 1,000 career points. “I think he enjoyed it,” Hurley said. “He likes Big East basketball.”

UConn, inspired by their recent accolades and Mazzulla’s support, delivered a stellar performance. After a grueling practice where Karaban and his teammates spent an extra 25 minutes shooting free throws, they showed significant improvement in their Big East opener. The Huskies hit 20 of 21 free throws, leading to a 94-89 overtime victory over Xavier in front of a lively sellout crowd.

Tarris Reed Jr. posted a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Solo Ball and Karaban added 22 and 20 points, respectively. This victory marked UConn’s first home Big East opener win since 2003. “Proud of our guys,” Hurley said. “Proud of how we’ve been the last couple of weeks and our refusal… to let the game slip away.”

This was the Huskies’ 5th consecutive win, following their embarrassing run at the Maui Invitational. If we were to consider Mazula’s reasoning for skipping on NBA games, his outing for the defending champions couldn’t have been better.

UConn overtime thriller just the watch for Joe Mazulla

One of the reasons Joe Mazulla doesn’t catch up on NBA games is because he’d not carry his work home. “I’m around it all the time,” he said. “Rather watch something else.” Well, he picked the right game.

The showdown featured 11 ties and 22 lead changes, the final one occurring 22 seconds into overtime when Karaban hit a three-pointer, giving UConn an 81-78 lead. Despite their usual struggles guarding the three-point line, the Huskies managed to pull through, with key plays from Karaban and Reed in overtime sealing the win.

Xavier had a strong performance from Ryan Conwell (23 points), Dante Maddox Jr. (22 points), and Marcus Foster (15 points), hitting 13 of 24 three-pointers. The Huskie fell short there, going 8 of 24. Hurley isn’t very happy about it, but the real exciting part for him, would have been the free throw success.

Despite their struggles at the foul line the previous day, UConn turned things around. Hurley’s drill requires the team to hit at least 80% of their free throws to end practice. “If anything, I crushed my team’s confidence (Tuesday) by making them do it over and over again,” Hurley admitted. It was a three-way win — for Hurley, Huskies, and Mazulla’s day out.