Braylon Mullins Steadies UConn in Tough Kansas Battle
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The UConn Huskies walked out of Allen Fieldhouse having earned something they hadn’t before: they're finally 1-4 all-time against Kansas. The Huskies went on to win 61–56 against the Jayhawks. And one of the reasons the team won was because of a freshman who had barely played a week of college basketball, but became the difference-maker UConn didn’t know it would need so soon.
UConn’s coveted freshman, Braylon Mullins, returned to the hardcourts after an ankle injury during the match against Illinois. In that matchup, Mullins managed to make only 2 points, which is poles apart from his performance against Kansas.
Against Kansas, Mullins stepped into the fire for 23 minutes in one of the toughest gyms in America and came out with a team-high 17 points and the final rebound that iced the game. However, the moment never seemed too big for him.
“I’m going to be honest with you, I’m really happy to be back on the court. That’s the first step. Coming off the minute restriction, 10 minutes last week, it just feels good. And there’s no better place to get a win. I don’t think they’ve lost much here. I’m just excited to celebrate a win with our team,” Mullins said after the match.
It didn’t take long for that joy to turn into production. His first three-pointer cut a Kansas run in the first half that cut KU's lead to 19-18. Then came Mullins’ personal 5–0 burst, forcing a Jayhawks' timeout. Soon after, Mullins came in with another triple, trimmed a second-half deficit that had started to widen.
UConn freshman Braylon Mullins just played in his second college game and put up a career-high off the bench 🔥
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) December 3, 2025
17 PTS | 6-12 FG | 5 REB | 23 MINS pic.twitter.com/7LqNYOVTC1
Even the nerves he admitted to early, “first four minutes I was in, up until that media timeout, the nerves were going,” burned off quickly as he settled into the same rhythm that made him Indiana’s Mr. Basketball.
And when UConn needed calm in the final seconds. Mullins delivered with two free throws. When asked if he was nervous about the final moments, he simply said, “No, we do a free-throw game every day in practice, so I’m used to that. It didn’t bother me. Didn’t bother me at all.”
A freshman who barely had a stat line a week ago suddenly had the defining play of UConn’s first-ever win over Kansas. Yet the minutes mattered as much as the points. Mullins doubled his debut workload and looked like someone who belonged in that expanded role.
“I kind of figured after the 10 minutes I’d get to play a little more. It depends on the flow of the game, but seeing 22 minutes is much better than 10. I was really happy to be back out there,” Mullins added.
That’s an understatement considering his +13 impact, the best of any player on the floor.
Even when he tried to downplay his performance, Dan Hurley wasn’t having it, jumping in mid-answer: “He’s a humble Indiana boy.”
But humility didn’t hide what everyone else could see: UConn just found another gear. And that gear might matter a whole lot more very soon.
Braylon Mullins Might Be the X-Factor UConn Needs For Gauntlet Ahead
UConn’s reward for surviving Kansas is a December stretch that gets tougher each night. The Huskies will face East Texas A&M on December 5. While UConn beat them by 35 last season, games like these are where rotations settle, and young players find their rhythm.
Yet another ELITE Freshman
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) December 3, 2025
Braylon Mullins scores a loud 17 pts and helps UCONN knock off Kansas on the road
Dan Hurley’s type of dude
pic.twitter.com/N6sqXwBsiY
Then comes Florida at Madison Square Garden, a program UConn has battled in some of college basketball’s biggest moments. Last season, the Huskies faced the Gators twice. While the Huskies won the regular season game, they lost 77-75 in March.
After that, they face Texas in Hartford. The gauntlet is coming fast, and UConn will need every ounce of depth to navigate it.
-fd44250df32912986cc6690f0b8bfa32.png "Shivani Menon")
Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.