Reed's historic performance fuels UConn men's 82-71 March Madness win over Furman
· Yahoo Sports
On a night where most of the UConn men’s basketball team was lifeless, senior center Tarris Reed, Jr. had the best game of his career and carried the Huskies to an 82-71 first-round win over upset-minded Furman.
The No. 15 Paladins gave No. 2 UConn everything it could handle in Philadelphia during a game that started around 10:30 p.m. Friday and didn’t finish until after 12:45 a.m. Saturday.
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Furman battled all night and put a legitimate scare into a Huskies squad missing its First Team All-Big East point guard, junior Silas Demary Jr., as well as junior forward Jaylin Stewart, a key reserve.
While the Paladins did almost everything right, they had no answer for Reed, who shattered his career highs with 31 points and 27 rebounds.
From the opening tip, Furman was unable to handle Reed, who reached 19 points by halftime.
While Reed was hot, no one else on UConn’s roster looked ready to play. The Huskies made only one three-pointer in the first half and finished with just five.
Meanwhile, a bad shot by freshman guard Braylin Mullins with several seconds remaining in the first half led to a Furman three-pointer at the buzzer. It trimmed UConn’s lead to four points at the break.
UConn expanded its advantage to double digits not long after the second half began, but Furman continued to fight and claw back, making things very uncomfortable for the Huskies. The Paladins got back to within four points late in the final frame.
Ultimately, Reed was way too much for the SoCon Tournament champions. He finished with four more rebounds than all the Paladins combined.
While Reed has put together some solid performances over the past two years, this was inarguably his best game as a Husky and likely the most dominant he’s ever been on a basketball court.
For historical perspective, Reed is the first player to score at least 30 points and grab at least 25 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game since Houston’s Elvin Hayes in 1968.
“It’s as dominant of a performance as you’ve probably seen from a big guy in tournament history, but that’s what he’s capable of,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley said after final buzzer. “This guy’s a total monster, and today, he was a real grizzly bear.”
Considering UConn’s injuries, Hurley was proud of how Reed stepped up.
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Reed said it’s been a tough week after the difficult loss to St. John’s in the Big East Tournament final, and he wanted to respond. He noted that he was effective against Furman because his coaches put him in the right places.
Regarding the history he made, Reed called it a “blessing” and credited God, his coaching staff and his teammates.
“Playing with joy was the biggest thing,” Reed said.
Senior forward Alex Karaban also played a key role for UConn against Furman, scoring 22 points while nailing four of his nine three-point attempts.
Karaban has now won 14 NCAA Tournament games, the most of any active player.
Mullins finished with 12 points but missed all eight of his three-point attempts.
Junior UConn guard Solo Ball was almost a no-show, scoring only seven points. He made just one of his six attempts from beyond the arc.
Furman’s upset bid was fueled by freshman guard Alex Wilkins, who finished with 21 points. He made four of his eight three-point attempts, but the Huskies limited him to just four second-half points.
Senior Paladins’ guard Tom House added 21 points and nailed four shots from downtown.
Next up for UConn is a matchup against fellow blue blood UCLA on Sunday at 8:45 p.m. on TNT.
The Bruins are the seventh seed in the East Region and beat No. 10 UCF 75-71 on Friday.
The last time the two storied programs faced off in March Madness was in the 1995 Elite Eight. Ray Allen scored 36 points for the Huskies, but it wasn’t enough to knock off UCLA, which won its most recent national title that season.
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Dalton Zbierski is a story desk editor and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at [email protected].
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