UConn men's basketball team ready for Top 25 showdown vs. Marquette: 'Can't come soon enough'

That's when the No. 21 Huskies host 10th-ranked Marquette in a Top 25 battle at XL Center (FS1). It is one of two Top 25 battles this week for UConn (18-6, 7-6 Big East), which travels to No. 23 Creighton on Saturday.

UConn lost at Marquette 82-76 on Jan. 11. The Huskies beat Creighton at home on Jan. 7, but also have lost at No. 20 Providence and at Seton Hall.

After Creighton, UConn plays Seton Hall and Providence at home on Feb. 18 and 22, respectively.

"It's a good get-back week," freshman Alex Karaban said. "We've lost so much, with some bad losses, and some close losses on the road, as well. It's definitely a big week for us in trying to get a little bit of it back."

But first things first. Marquette (19-5, 11-2 Big East) has won five straight and is the highest-ranked team in the league. In the Jan. 11 loss, Karaban and Clingan, the two freshmen, were the Huskies' best players. That's not exactly a winning formula against an excellent team like the Golden Eagles.

"We weren't at our best," Clingan said. "We were going through a little bit of a tough stretch. But we're ready to go. We want revenge on these teams. I know everyone in that locker room is ready to play (Tuesday)."

Perhaps no one more so than Jordan Hawkins and Adama Sanogo, who each played subpar games in the first meeting at Marquette.

"They're excited about this one," Karaban said. "They love playing against teams they didn't play well against. I know they had this one circled right after that game immediately. I think good things will happen for them (Tuesday)."

Karaban added that the Huskies are running on "a little bit of a revenge factor, payback in a sense. They beat us at their homecourt, now we've got to beat them at our homecourt. Protect homecourt, which we've been doing a pretty good job of so far."

UConn is 11-2 at home this season, 5-1 at XL Center. The Huskies got a rare chance to practice at the building on Monday afternoon.

"Class schedules sometimes get in the way," Hurley said. "For the most part, though, it's just not having access to the building, because of the hockey or whatever different shows go on here. Weekends, we would come here all the time, if we could, if it was permitting. Either you just can't do it because of class schedules, or we just can't get in here or don't have a lot of access."

UConn doesn't always play its best inside the cavernous XL Center, but the Huskies are embracing the setting for Tuesday.

"We're real excited to play this one in Hartford," Hurley continued. "We're going to get a great crowd. It's going to be a high-level game. Those are much more exciting than those games where you're a huge, huge favorite, and losing the game could really wreck you. These are not the ones that you're anxious about or nervous about, even though the quality of the opponent is high. You're just excited to be playing a big game."

Rim rattlings

• Karaban, a Massachusetts product, is tight with Marquette point guard Tyler Kolek, a Rhode Island native who is second in the nation in assists per game and one of the frontrunners for Big East Player of the YEar.

The two played against each other in AAU ball, and when Karaban was at New Hampton School and Kolek at St. George's. They played a lot of pick-up against each other this past summer, and Kolek helped Karaban prepare for the rigors of Big East play.

"He's been helping me out with the Big East a little bit, letting me know in the summer about it," Karaban reported. "He's just a great kid."

• Karaban is growing a beard, but it's not the same as assistant coach Tom Moore, who doesn't appear to be in a hurry to shave until the Huskies lose a game.

"He's not the same as Tom," Hurley said. "Those are two separate things. I just think it makes him look like an even better player. It's just a great look for Alex. I like the beard. Tom's a different deal."

david.borges@hearstmediact.com @DaveBorges