When Alex Karaban decided to return to UConn for another season, his fifth with the program, the clear and obvious goal was to win another national championship. Now a redshirt senior, Karaban entered the 2025-26 campaign having already won two titles with the Huskies. And after the chance for a three-peat fell short last spring, the star forward bypassed the chance to turn pro for one more run alongside head coach Dan Hurley.
There were three championships to chase for a team that entered the year with sky-high expectations: a Big East regular season title, a Big East Tournament title and the school’s third national championship in four years. The first two opportunities came and went. UConn stumbled in its final regular season game against Marquette, which handed St. John’s the outright title, and then got walloped by the Red Storm in the Big East title game last weekend.
Now, the only championship remaining for Karaban to chase is the sport’s ultimate prize. The Huskies earned a No. 2 seed in the East Region and will begin their pursuit on Friday night against No. 15 seed Furman in Philadelphia. It’s officially Karaban’s last dance.
“I feel no pressure whatsoever,” Karaban told me this week during an interview that also promoted his brand partnership with Great Clips. “Yes, we didn’t accomplish the goals that we wanted, but that only means that people don’t believe in us. People [picked] us to win the Big East, people saw all these accomplishments for us, and we didn’t do it. We didn’t do it. It was our fault. It’s obviously a disappointing feeling that we have. But at the end of the day, I think that just made people not believe in us. So if people don’t want to believe in us, that’s their choice.”
Here’s our conversation, which has been condensed and edited for clarity.
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
You’ve gone through a few Selection Sundays by now. What was the emotion for you knowing that this was your last one?
Karaban: It was cool going through Selection Sunday. I think the nerves never really change. You always get excited just knowing who you’re going to play and where you’re going to go. March Madness, it’s almost like a new season in a way, and it’s an exciting feeling. It’s exciting to see your teammates that haven’t been a part of March Madness kind of feel those emotions as well. You work so hard the entire year for March Madness, so it’s exciting. And now it’s really time to lock in one game at a time.
What is the mood of the team after the Big East title game didn’t go your way? You’re still 29-5. How are you feeling about where the group is mentally right now?
Karaban: We’re in a good spot. Obviously, Saturday didn’t go the way that we wanted to, and a lot of disappointment and really trying to still flush that game out of our system. But at the end of the day, we’ve gotta move on, knowing the opportunity that we have ahead of us and how exciting March Madness is for everybody. I was part of a team where we didn’t win the Big East Tournament, and we were able to flip that to winning a national championship [in 2022-23]. We can’t let what happened on Saturday define how our season goes, and we’ve really just got to continue to move forward and learn from it — but also make sure that doesn’t happen again.
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Both championship teams during your time at UConn were very dominant in the NCAA Tournament. What were some of the keys to finding that level of consistency to win six straight games?
Karaban: We never looked ahead in the bracket. We started one game at a time. For us, it will be Furman to start [this run]. Just locking in and really blocking out all the outside noise. We didn’t want to hear anything from other people besides the people in our circle. Those were the only voices that mattered. We stayed with it, we had a positive attitude every single day, and really just trusted one another, trusted the coaches and leaned on each other as teammates to ultimately get what we wanted.
There are many times throughout the year when Coach Hurley talks about how much credit he gives to the coaching staff for drawing up game plans and scouting. Is that side of the game amplified during these quick turnarounds in the NCAA Tournament?
Karaban: I always have confidence in the coaching staff. Every single game this year, I felt more than prepared, and I felt ready for every single game. It’s just on us as players to go out there and execute what they want us to do. Whatever assistant [coach] has the scout always does a great job, and throughout my experience in March Madness, they’ve been preparing nonstop for any opponent. So I feel more than ready. I know we’ve got the best coaches, and Coach Hurley also chimes in, too, for the scouts on every single game and makes sure that we’re locked in for it. It’s always a collective effort from the coaches, and they’re the best. They’re truly the best coaches.
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The non-conference schedule that you played early in the year included numerous teams that are now seeded quite high in the NCAA Tournament. How well do you think that prepared you for some of the teams you’ll see now that aren’t necessarily from the Big East?
Karaban: Oh, that prepared us a lot. All the schools that we played — Arizona, Kansas, BYU — just all those elite, non-conference opponents that we played, one, it gives us confidence in how good of a team we are. But also, [it showed us] what it’s like to play against the best. We felt like we had the best non-conference [schedule] to prepare us for moments like March Madness. We’ll be ready. We’re going to prepare. We’re really going to have our sights locked in on Furman and move forward. I’m excited. I think there’s just a whole belief system going through our program, knowing what we did in the non-conference could really translate to March.
In the moments this season when UConn has played its best basketball, what clicks for this particular team?
Karaban: I think we were out there just really leaning on each other. We were out there giving each other confidence. We were out there having fun. And we were really playing like we just let loose out there. Really just playing as if there was no worry in the world. You saw the joy that we had, you saw the excitement. But really, I think it started on the defensive end, too. We were really bought in defensively. We were taking care of the basketball and just played off one another. I think that’s something we’ve got to do in March and really just enjoy everything that we’re part of.
(Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
Why do you think the style of UConn’s offense, which includes so many actions and movements, is so difficult for teams to defend in the NCAA Tournament?
Karaban: I think it starts with we’re definitely the team that uses the most off-ball movement and all those complicated actions. There’s not really other teams in other conferences that do as much off-ball [movement] as we do. I think that can throw teams for a loop knowing that most [of the time] they’re just guarding ball screens or just guarding a single pin down, when we have so many actions with so many counter-punches to a certain action, too. I think that’s extremely difficult. And then also, if we’re able to win on Friday, you get a one-day prep as well for us. And I think having such a short prep for us can really be an advantage for us with teams not able to see us the entire year.
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When you get a chance to talk to some of your teammates who haven’t played in the NCAA Tournament yet, whether those are freshmen or some of the transfers, what do you tell them about the seriousness it takes — but also what it’s like to enjoy the experience?
Karaban: There’s obviously a level of seriousness that you need to have. Every team that makes March Madness is good. I mean, they’re all in it for a reason. So you’ve got to have a level of seriousness and ultimate respect for anyone you’re going to play against. But you’ve got to have fun with it, too. You’ve dreamed of playing in March Madness. We all dreamed of playing college basketball, and we all watched March Madness growing up. So to be a part of it is always special, it’s always a blessing, and you can’t take it for granted.
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