UConn basketball took care of business in a 75-63 win over the Providence Friars.
Providence played host to the second leg of the season series between the Huskies and the Friars. UConn basketball entered the game leading the all-time series 34 to 20 and winning the last five matchups.
It was a close game early with four lead changes and plenty of traded baskets. Former Husky and current Friar, Corey Floyd Jr. scored 5 points quickly as Providence looked comfortable right away, but once UConn basketball and Tarris Reed Jr. settled in they were able to pull ahead.
Tarris Reed Jr. had 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocks in just the first half but it didn’t stop there as he opened the second half with 5 consecutive points. UConn basketball pushed their lead to as much as 17 as they held the duo of Bensley Joseph and Jayden Pierre to just 13 points on 4 for 21 shooting.
The Huskies cruised to the finish line in this game as they ended up winning by 12 points and didn’t score any points in the final 3:27 of the game. Tarris Reed Jr. was the MVP of the game as he finished with 24 points, 18 rebounds, and 6 blocks.
Alex Karaban (17), Solo Ball (14) and Liam McNeeley (14) finished with double digit scoring and Hassan Diarra ran the offense extremely well with 10 assists.
Takeaway #1: There’s a grizzly bear in Providence
Tarris Reed Jr. had the best game of his entire basketball career setting new career highs in points, rebounds, AND blocks. The Michigan transfer looked like he could do whatever he wanted on the court and a huge impact on both ends of the court from scoring 24 points to having 6 blocks and 2 steals.
Reed Jr. has been heating up recently averaging 18 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game over his last four games. It seemed like he was at his best earlier this week with 20 points, 10 rebounds in a win over Georgetown but Tarris quickly topped himself with this most recent performance.
Dan Hurley is certainly happy with the level of intensity and aggressiveness that Tarris has been playing with lately as he continues to reward the Junior with more minutes. While a spot in the starting lineup may not be in the cards this season, Tarris is certainly playing like a top five option for the Huskies.
HOSS 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/OCuUa8VW8O
— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) March 1, 2025
Takeaway #2: Forget about it
While Providence may want to forget about a lot of this season, they certainly want to forget about today. While the Friars had 10 different players score points, only one of them was in double figures at 10 showing how hard it was for them to find any consistency on the offensive end.
In January the Friars found out that they would be without their star Bryce Hopkins for the rest of the season as the injury bug continues to plague the Friars in year two of the Kim English era. Providence has been on a rough stretch since the news, with just one win over their last eight games in what is becoming a season to forget.
Takeaway #3: The Huskies got their swagger back
This season has been a roller coaster ride for UConn basketball, but they are now in a groove after winning back-to-back games by double digits for the first time since November during their “buy game” stretch. Four players scored 14 or more points against Providence and the team shot 45% from three.
With two games left to play in the regular season, the Huskies control their own destiny and can reach the 3 seed in the Big East Tournament by winning out. If UConn basketball can keep playing like they have over their last two games then they’ll be able to achieve far more than just a 3 seed in the conference tourney once the postseason arrives.
Next up for UConn basketball (20-9, 12-6): vs Marquette (12-5, 21-7) – Mar. 5 at 8:30 p.m. EST
Next up for Providence (12-17, 6-12): vs. DePaul (2-16, 11-8) – Mar. 5 at 6:30 p.m. EST