UConn HC Discusses Historic Rivalry With Big East Foe
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Right now, the UConn Huskies look like a program built for March. They are sitting on an 18–1 overall record and a perfect 8–0 In Big East play. Their last game was against the Georgetown Hoyas, and it ended in a 64–62 road win despite one of its coldest shooting performances of the season.
The Huskies hit just 36.2% from the floor and struggled from deep with only 5-of-26. Tarris Reed Jr. anchored the effort with 15 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks, and three steals, while Silas Demary Jr. had 12 points, five assists, and three steals.
This was UConn’s 11th straight win over Georgetown and pushed the all-time series to 41–36 in the Huskies’ favor. It also extended their single-season winning streak to 14 games. While numbers matter, Dan Hurley, this game meant something more.
“Well, listen, Georgetown–Yukon, it means something. I mean, those two programs getting together, it’s special. You know the history, all the great players that have played in these games over the course of the years. Every recruit that comes on campus, obviously, we show them the Ray Allen shot at MSG to win the Big East tournament there,” said Hurley.
Hurley is talking about the moment when Ray Allen lifted UConn past Allen Iverson and Georgetown in the 1996 Big East title game. With 13.6 seconds left, Allen’s off-balance jumper rolled around the rim and dropped. The Huskies won 75–74 at Madison Square Garden.
Hurley also went on to add, “And the Big East needs the traditional powers to be where Ed’s (Cooley) going to get this program. I mean, he is going to get this program where the Big East needs it to be and where Georgetown needs it to be. He’s one of the best coaches in the country, not too far removed from National Coach of the Year, and amongst his peers, known as one of the best coaches in the country. So yeah, I mean, we want to play high-level games. Yukon–Georgetown, St. John’s–Georgetown, those are exciting games.”
Ray Allen game-winner over Allen Iverson to win the 1996 Big East title 🏆 pic.twitter.com/QFcBQd4rXF
— Fastbreak Hoops (@FastbreakHoops5) December 8, 2025
The Georgetown–UConn rivalry dates back to 1958 and peaked during the original Big East era when both programs helped define the conference by combining for 14 tournament titles. Since UConn’s return to the Big East in 2020–21, that competitive thread has been fully restored, and that’s perhaps why this game felt different.
What’s Next for the UConn Huskies?
There’s no time to rest for the Huskies. UConn returns home to PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford for a Big East clash with the Villanova Wildcats on Jan. 24.
The Huskies have won seven of the last ten meetings and are coming off a 73–56 neutral-site win in last season’s Big East Tournament, but Villanova’s physical style says this game will not be easy.
After that, the schedule tightens with Providence, Creighton, Xavier, St. John’s, Butler and another Georgetown meeting. The Huskies will also face Villanova, Seton Hall and Marquette. Soon after that, the Big East tournament begins at Madison Square Garden.
-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.