Coach Dan Hurley preaches playing hard on defense to his No. 4-ranked UConn squad. Now, just days ahead of the launch of the 2025-26 men’s basketball season, he’ll need to talk with his team about execution.

In their second of two preseason exhibition games, the Huskies toppled No. 22 Michigan State 76-69 on Tuesday in Hartford, Conn. UConn never trailed, despite committing 34 personal fouls that sent the Spartans to the free-throw line 44 times.

"A lot of it was a lack of discipline," he said. "I do think we're playing hard. We're much better defensively … than we were last year. But we've got to figure out the fouling thing."

Ahead of the game, Hurley and Michigan State coach Tom Izzo agreed to a maximum of six fouls per player for the exhibition game. It’s a good thing. UConn’s Dwayne Koroma fouled out, and Silas Demary Jr., Eric Reibe and Malachi Smith each committed five.

"He was a battering ram today," Hurley said of Koroma, who fouled out after just 10 minutes of play. "I've got to see the fouls; I don't know what the hell he was doing. But I love that guy. I think that guy's going to really help us win games."

Solo Ball and Alex Karaban managed to stay out of foul trouble and led the Huskies with 18 points each.

 Jeremy Fears Jr. had a team-leading 14 points for Michigan State.

For Demary, a transfer from Georgia, the game represented his debut in a UConn uniform. He missed the team’s 71-52 exhibition win over Boston College with a calf injury. Against Michigan State, he scored nine points and had four rebounds and three assists, limited to 20 minutes.

Freshman Braylon Mullins (ankle) and Tarris Reed Jr. (hamstring) were out.

The Huskies took a 44-31 lead at halftime, led by 12 points from Ball and nine from Karaban.

The Spartans shot 35% (7 of 20) from the field for the half, relying on 17 points off of 22 free throws for scoring. They converted just 12 of 22 attempts (54.5%) from the foul line in the second half.

The Huskies shot 42.3% (22 of 52) for the game, with the Spartans at 39.1% (18 of 46) from the field.

They combined for 56 fouls, with UConn converting 23 of 30 free-throw attempts.

"I would say 10 or 12 of them were just lack of discipline fouls," Hurley said, per CT Insider. "I've got to coach better technique and discipline. We practice real hard, but when we get to the game we've got to clean some things up. Maybe I've got to start calling more fouls in practice."

The Huskies begin the regular season on Monday against New Haven at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs. The Spartans host Colgate at home on Monday in their opener.