Texas HC Compares Former UConn Roster to Coach K Teams
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The UConn Huskies walked into PeoplesBank Arena carrying momentum and a team that had hit its ceiling. At 10–1 overall, the Huskies are settling in. Their last matchup was against the Texas Longhorns, and the match ended with a 71–63 win for the Huskies. Soon after the game, the Longhorns' head coach spoke to the press.
And the opposing bench coach, Sean Miller, noticed something familiar.
“The last four teams, starting with the first year at Xavier, won a national championship," Miller said. "They were good, then they got great at the end. Year two was the best college team I’ve ever seen. I put them up there with Coach K’s teams."
"They were incredible, that second team especially. Last year, maybe, it wasn’t as good as the first two. This year feels more on par with that first team I coached against. I don’t know if you can build that second team again. That group was amazing."
That statement comes from memory. In the 2022–23 season, his Xavier team handed UConn its first loss, beating a roster led by Adama Sanogo, Andre Jackson Jr. and a younger Donovan Clingan. That team was strong, physical, but unfinished. That season, Xavier took the Huskies down twice.
However, in the following year, that changed. The 2023–24 UConn team, the one Miller called “the best college team I’ve ever seen,” overwhelmed Xavier twice. Once in a 43-point demolition at the XL Center. Again at Madison Square Garden, where UConn erupted after halftime. That is the team that draws the comparison to Coach K.
Mike Krzyzewski's teams were the definition of formidable. He led the Duke University Blue Devils to five national championships, including 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010, and 2015. Being compared to a legend like that is no small thing. And Miller might be onto something here.
The 2023-24 season featured players such as Tristen Newton, Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle, Alex Karaban, Solo Ball, and Samson Johnson, among others. Although both teams went on to win the championship, this was a particularly formidable team.
According to Miller, the current roster is closer to the 2022-23 squad. In the latest game, Karaban went on to make 18 points. However, it was Tarris Reed Jr. who turned the game around and finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and four blocks while anchoring the paint. And of course, Miller noticed.
In fact, Miller went on to say, “Everybody else on the court because he’s different. We knew that we tried to trap him, and I thought at times that was good for us. However, when you trap UConn, you have to be careful because of the firepower around him. Tarris Reed is a big part of what makes UConn good. The last four teams, starting with the first year at Xavier, won a national championship.”
How Good is the 2025–26 Roster?
The numbers back up exactly what Sean Miller is seeing. UConn sits fifth in the Associated Press poll and eighth in the NCAA NET with a 10–1 record. The Huskies finished non-conference play with a 5–1 record against major opponents.
The efficiency is real. UConn has shot 50 percent or better in six games, including three straight, while holding seven opponents under 40 percent shooting. Against Texas alone, the Huskies shot 54.7 percent, clamped the Longhorns to 37.7 percent overall and just 30.4 percent in the second half.
In the Big East standings, UConn sits third in the league standings behind St. John’s and Creighton, but the profile is sturdier than the table suggests. Since the start of the 2022–23 season, the Huskies are 19–4 against fellow high-major teams in non-conference play. Under Dan Hurley, they are 48–3 in home non-conference games, including a 22-game winning streak in Hartford.
With Texas, UConn has concluded its non-conference schedule and will now enter conference play. They face Butler next on December 16.
-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.