College basketball rankings for 2024: Purdue and UConn are still atop, but Marquette is moving up.

Jim Calhoun, the former head coach of Connecticut, appeared on the FS1 broadcast of the Huskies’ season-opening victory over Northern Arizona in early November. The Huskies were the reigning national champions. Never one to hold back, Calhoun said he thought power forward Alex Karaban might be the team’s best player. Calhoun led the Huskies to three national titles in his own, in 1999, 2004 and 2011.

Fans in Connecticut who had grown enamored with five-star freshman Stephon Castle, mammoth center Donovan Clingan, or veteran guard Tristen Newton may have been surprised by Calhoun’s selection. But it seems that current UConn head coach Dan Hurley agrees with the Hall of Famer’s assessment three months later, following a hard-fought victory over St. John’s at Madison Square Garden. Due to an ankle injury sustained three days earlier, Karaban was unable to participate in Saturday’s victory over the Red Storm. Hurley expressed surprise at his team’s performance considering the significance of the player Connecticut was missing.

“Delighted to have won,” Hurley exclaimed. “All things considered, I didn’t think we could play without Alex as well or as toughly as we did. He serves as the program’s “brain center.”

In front of a sold-out crowd, UConn still dominated St. John’s with a 41-point second-half burst that turned a close game into a double-figure victory, 77-64, with Karaban watching from the bench. With a career-high 21 points on 7-for-12 shooting, Castle supplied the offensive punch that Karaban, who averages 14.5 points per game and is second on the team in 3-point makes, usually provides. He, Newton (18 points), and Cam Spencer (23 points) made up a triumvirate that was too strong for the Red Storm to overcome.