#6 UConn to Host Butler Sunday at the XL Center

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Butler’s first game in February will send the team to Hartford to play #6 UConn. The Huskies remain undefeated in BIG EAST action and are the first team in the conference to reach 20 wins. The 1 p.m. tip at the XL Center will air live on SNY.
 
Game Day
Date: Sunday, February 2, 2025
Time: 1:00 PM ET
Location: Hartford, Conn. – XL Center
Live Stats: UConnHuskies.com
Watch: SNY
 
Bulldog Bits
– Kilyn McGuff needs 11 points against UConn to reach 1,000 in her career.
– Jocelyn Land scored in double figures for the first time in her BU career Wednesday night at Seton Hall.
– Land led the team in scoring for the first time as a Bulldog with a career-high 14 points.
– Land went 5-for-9 from the field and 3-for-6 from 3-point range to set new career-high totals.
– Lily Zeinstra grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds at Walsh Gym.
 – Zeinstra just missed a double-double by adding nine points.
– Zeinstra made a career-high six free throws in her last game, ending the night 6-for-6 from the line.
– McGuff leads the team and ranks second in the conference in rebounds per game (8.2).
– McGuff leads the BIG EAST and ranks 23rd in the nation in double-doubles (9).
– BU is third in the league in rebound margin (+3.7).
– McGuff is the seventh-best free throw shooter in the league, connecting on 76 percent of her attempts.
– BU leads the conference in free throw attempts (18.3) and free throws made (13.0) per game.
– McGuff ranks sixth in the conference in minutes played per game (33.1).
– McGuff and Zeinstra were the only Bulldogs to play 30+ minutes vs. Seton Hall.
– Butler leads the BIG EAST in bench points per game (23.2).
– The BU bench scored 25 points at Seton Hall.
– Sydney Jaynes needs two assists on Sunday to reach 200 in her career.
– Karsyn Norman has recorded a steal in six-straight games for BU.
– Lily Carmody leads the team in total steals with 43.
 
BIG EAST Standings
UConn 11-0, 20-2
Creighton 9-1, 17-4
Seton Hall 7-2, 15-5
Marquette 6-3, 14-6
DePaul 6-4, 11-12
Villanova 5-4, 11-10
Georgetown 3-7, 10-11
St. John’s 2-8, 12-9
Butler 2-8, 12-11
Providence 2-8, 9-14
Xavier 1-9, 6-15
 
Scouting #6 UConn                                                                                          
The Huskies are the sixth-best team in the country according to the latest AP Poll and are sitting in second of the NET rankings, trailing only South Carolina. UConn remains undefeated in league play and only have two losses all year. They took a 79-68 setback at #8 Notre Dame on Dec. 12 and then lost to #7 USC at the XL Center (72-70) on Dec. 21. Their most competitive conference game came on Jan. 25 when they defeated Creighton in Omaha 72-61. Head Coach Geno Auriemma has the Huskies leading the conference in scoring offense, scoring margin, field goal percentage, assists per game, assist to turnover ratio, fewest turnovers per game, turnover margin, fewest fouls per game, scoring defense, and field goal percentage defense. Paige Bueckers is the third leading scorer in the BIG EAST (19.0) and Sarah Strong ranks sixth (17.3). That duo ranks first and second in field goal percentage shooting north of 50 percent on the year. Bueckers also ranks second in 3-point field goal percentage (42.6) and assists per game (4.2). Strong is second in steals per game (2.4), fourth in rebounds (7.9), and sixth in blocks per game (1.2).
 
All-Time Series                                                                                                   
UConn leads the all-time series against Butler 6-0. The Huskies have been nationally-ranked in every meeting dating back to the first matchup on Jan. 19, 2021. They were as high as No. 1 in 2020-21 polls and as low as No. 17 last year. In games at UConn, Butler is averaging 45 points per game. Their best effort came in the last matchup at the XL Center. Butler topped 60 points, but would ultimately be defeated 88-62. It was the second-highest point total reached vs. UConn, falling just short of the 68 points BU scored in the second-ever meeting in 2021. The first two meetings between BU and UConn were played in Storrs. This will be the second-straight game with the teams playing in Hartford.
 
Last Game vs. The Huskies                                                                           
Butler opened BIG EAST action at UConn last year meeting the Huskies at the XL Center for the first time. The Bulldogs led by one after the first quarter (21-20), but would fall on the road by the final score of 88-62. BU shot 63 percent from 3-point range (10-16) and would dish out 19 assists on 25 made field goals. Karsyn Norman came off the bench to score 10 points and Riley Makalusky made all three of her shot attempts to end the night with seven. UConn was led by Ashlynn Shade and her game-high 22 point performance. Paige Bueckers also impacted the action with 16 points and seven assists.
 
Best of the Best                                                                                                 
Butler will face a ranked opponent for the second time this season on Sunday afternoon. Back on Nov. 30, the Bulldogs played #5 Texas in game two of the Gulf Coast Showcase. Their last win over a ranked opponent came on March 1, 2021 when they won 86-81 at #25 DePaul.
 
Closing In on 1,000 Points                                                                             
Kilyn McGuff is only 11 points away from 1,000 in her collegiate career. The Belmont transfer scored nine at Seton Hall on Wednesday, pushing her season total to 266. She had 329 points as a sophomore and approached the 300 mark last year. McGuff averages 11.6 points per game and has scored in double figures 14 times this season. She has led BU in scoring six times.
 
600 Club                                                                                                               
Kilyn McGuff grabbed 10 rebounds on Jan. 26 to push her career total over 600. McGuff has 188 rebounds this season, that’s 14 more than she had all of last year at Belmont in 33 starts. She averages 8.2 per game and is now on pace to break into the single-season top ten list in the Butler record book.
 
Carter Cleans Up                                                                                              
Cristen Carter needs one more rebound to reach 100 on the season. She has a team-high 50 on the offensive glass and is averaging 4.3 rebounds per game. Carter recently passed 200 rebounds in her BU career. She has three more offensive rebounds (105) than defensive (102) over 54 games.
 
Freshmen Firepower                                                                         
A Bulldog freshman has led Butler in scoring six times this season. Lily Carmody has been responsible for four of those six, Lily Zeinstra did it against UT Martin (13) and Jocelyn Land paced the offense with 14 at Seton Hall. 
 
What’s Missing?                                                                                                
Caroline Strande and Jordan Meulemans are both out for the season. Meulemans was sidelined just days before Butler’s first game and Strande suffered a season-ending injury on Dec. 29 vs. Seton Hall. Strande was a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection last year and became the first Bulldog in program history to lead the team in points, rebounds and assists during the same season. Meulemans made 61 3-pointers last year, shooting 42 percent from behind the arc.
 
18 3-Pointers                                                                                        
The Bulldogs set a single-game program record against Saint Francis by hitting 18 3-pointers. Eight different players made at least one 3-pointer and no Bulldog made more than four. As a team, BU shot 56.3 percent from behind the arc, making 18 of their 32 attempts. The old record of 16 was reached two times previously. BU hit 16 3-pointers at Georgetown on Jan. 11, 2014 and the 2023-24 team matched that effort with 16 against St. Thomas in game two of the Tiger Turkey Tip-Off.
 
10 Wins                                                                                                                 
The Bulldogs reached 10 non-conference wins before the start of BIG EAST play for just the second time since joining conference. Butler went 6-2 in November and highlighted that stretch of action with a 56-46 home win over Indiana. The victory came in front of a record-setting crowd of 4,135 fans.
 
Up Next                                                                                                                 
Butler will return to Hinkle Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Feb. 5 with a home game against Villanova. The 7 p.m. tip will be the first meeting between the two clubs this season.