Hartford – Georgetown coach Ed Cooley briefly chatted with Alex Karaban before Sunday’s Big East game at the XL Center.

While coaching at Providence, Cooley recruited Karaban, who’s from Southborough, Mass.

Cooley raved about Karaban after the UConn redshirt sophomore forward scored a career-high tying 26 points while leading his team to an 80-67 victory.

“He’s a player that not a lot of people give credit to,” Cooley said. “He’s as versatile as a player in the country. He can play inside, he can play outside. They can run offense through him. He definitely is something who needs to be accounted for.

“He was great today. He was a first round pick today.”

The Huskies would certainly agree with Cooley.

Karaban, with help from graduate guard Cam Spencer (20 points) and freshman Stephon Castle (14) carried the fourth-ranked Huskies to their fifth straight win, all without starting center Donovan Clingan who’s out with a foot injury.

Come Monday, UConn will learn if it will be voted No. 1 in the Associated Press top 25 poll for the first time since 2009. The top three teams all lost games last week.

Cooley called the Huskies “the best team in the country’’ and added that they should be voted No. 1.

“It will be cool just to have the No. 1 next to our name,” said Karaban when asked about the possibility. “But, at the same time, it’s just a number. We’re just going to have a bigger target on our back, too. None of us are really focused on that. It will be cool to have and just cool to say. We’re not going to be focused on it.”

The Huskies, 15-2, are building an impressive resume. They’re off to a 5-1 start in conference play for the first time since 2008-09. They’re tied for first place with Seton Hall.

Karaban is one of the driving forces behind UConn’s success.

After starting for the national championship team last season, Karaban’s game has evolved. He’s improved across the board and held his own when forced to play at the five-man spot at times during Clingan’s absence. He’s earned some battle scars, receiving 10 stitches after the Xavier game on Wednesday to close a cut from catching an elbow just above his right eye.

UConn coach Dan Hurley is still upset that Karaban didn’t win the Big East rookie of the year award last season. And ask any Husky and they’d say Karaban deserved better than just an All-Big East preseason honorable mention that he received in October.

“Alex is one of the best players in the league,” Hurley said. “He’s always underappreciated. … When you talk about Big East player of the year candidates, he’s right there with a couple of our guys.”

Karaban started hot and stayed that way on Sunday, scoring 19 points in the first half as UConn took a 40-31 lead.

The Huskies never really felt comfortable in the second half despite their lead never dipping below six.

They delivered big shots and defensive stops during crucial times.

Holding a 52-46 lead, UConn’s defense forced Georgetown into two misses and then Spencer buried a 3-pointer. Spencer went 5-for-7 from beyond the arc overall

That’s as close as the Hoyas would get.

“It felt like we couldn’t break away from that six to 10 point lead. In those moments, it’s definitely important to get stops and hopefully capitalize on the offensive end,” Spencer said.

Karaban helped the Huskies get to the finish line. He drained his career-high tying sixth 3-pointer of the game to push the lead to 74-61 with three minutes, 41 seconds left. He finished 9 for 13 from the field and added five rebounds.

Overall, UConn shot a sizzling 54.2 percent (13-for-24) from 3-point range and 51.1 percent overall.

“We put in too much work to pass up open looks,” Karaban said. “I thought, in general, the entire team got great open shots.”

Karaban is on a tear.

In the last four games, Karaban is a sizzling 27 for 41 from the field, including 16 for 24 from 3-point range. He’s averaging 19.2 points during that span.

“He’s starting to heat up,” Hurley said.

Cooley has taken notice.

“I told him I was proud of him,” Cooley said of his pre-game conversation with Karaban. “When we were at Providence, we did everything to recruit him. We built a pretty good relationship. But he chose the right school — national champion. He’s going to be a great player.”

“I just told him, `You’re a helluva player. Continue to do great things.’ ”

News and notes

Clingan participated in some warmup drills before the game but wore his street clothes and watched the game from the bench. UConn next plays on Wednesday against Creighton in Storrs. “He’s having no symptoms whatsoever,” Hurley said. “He feels completely great. … The only way he’s out there against Creighton is if this thing continues to progress and we feel like he has had enough practice time. We’re not going to rush him out there.” … Both teams battled foul trouble, as officials called a total of 44 fouls, including 23 on UConn. “We have to go back and watch the film and figure out why we’re being called for more fouls than our opponents are called for ,” Hurley said. … The Hoyas shot just 34 percent from the field. Supreme Cook was a handful, finishing with 18 points and 13 rebounds.

g.keefe@theday.com