Philadelphia, PA — The UConn Huskies men’s basketball narrowly avoided a stunning early exit in the NCAA Tournament, riding a historic performance from Tarris Reed Jr. to an 82-71 win over the Furman Paladins men’s basketball.
Reed dominated from start to finish, putting up 31 points and 27 rebounds in one of the most remarkable stat lines the tournament has seen in generations. Despite the eye-popping numbers, he still held himself to a higher standard.
“I feel like I let my foot off the gas a little bit in the second half,” Reed said.
UConn needed every bit of his production. With the Huskies struggling from beyond the arc and dealing with key absences, Reed controlled the paint on both ends, keeping his team afloat as Furman pushed for an upset.
Head coach Dan Hurley didn’t hesitate to credit his star center.
“That was the game, this guy,” Hurley said. “That’s as dominant a performance as you’ve probably seen from a big guy in tournament history. That’s what he’s capable of. This guy’s a total monster and today he was a real grizzly bear.”
Alex Karaban added 22 points for UConn, but the Huskies spent much of the night battling a determined Furman squad that refused to back down.
The Paladins came out aggressive, knocking down shots and even grabbing a brief lead in the first half. Their confidence only grew as the game went on, fueled by strong outside shooting and a belief they could pull off a bracket-busting win.
At one point in the second half, a three-pointer cut UConn’s lead to just five with under six minutes to play, putting real pressure on the Huskies.
“I thought if we could have gotten a score there, we really could have made the game interesting,” said Furman head coach Bob Richey.
But UConn responded when it mattered most. Behind Reed’s presence inside, the Huskies closed the game on a strong run to secure the win and avoid what could have been one of the tournament’s biggest upsets.
Reed said he anticipated having a major impact after studying Furman’s lineup.
“I feel like just watching film, from the jump,” he said. “Knowing what the scout was, trusting in my teammates, trusting in the coaching staff, knowing that I was really going to be able to dominate down low and take advantage of the bigs they had and just take advantage of the paint.”
Furman, which has built a reputation for March surprises, showed flashes of another potential upset with its energy and shot-making. But in the end, the Huskies’ size and resilience proved too much.
With the win, UConn advances to face the UCLA Bruins men’s basketball, surviving a major scare thanks to a performance that will be remembered as one of the most dominant in tournament history.
