Tarris Reed Jr. shone in his return against UMass Lowell as UConn basketball won in a historic 110 to 47 smackdown.
Tarris Reed Jr. did not suit up for the season opener against New Haven but his return to the starting lineup for UConn basketball against UMass Lowell was felt immediately. UConn jumped out to an insane 44 to 3 lead against UMass Lowell in what felt like déjà vu to the 30-0 run UConn went on against Illinois in the NCAA Tournament.
UConn basketball did not let up at all and set a program record for a halftime lead, going into the break up 64 to 17, shattering the previous record, which was a 40-point halftime lead against Wagner way back in 1998. This looked like a completely different team than the one from opening night. And a large reason for this was the return of Tarris Reed Jr., whose impact was massive on the defensive and offensive end.
Overall, the opening game for the newly renovated PeoplesBank Arena could not have gone better for Tarris Reed Jr. and the UConn Huskies as they finished the night with a 110 to 47 point victory as they moved to 3-0 all-time against the UMass Lowell River Hawks.
Final in Hartford! pic.twitter.com/ApZzC4HF6T
— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) November 8, 2025
Tarris Reed Jr.’s impressive night.
Tarris Reed Jr. provided a much-needed lift to a UConn team that did not have their best outing against New Haven in the season opener. He finished with an impressive 20 points, 12 rebounds, and blocked 4 shots. This was his 11th double-double of his career, and this tally should continue to increase as the season progresses.
What is even more impressive is the fact that he accomplished all of this in just 17 minutes. He showed no signs of rust, and it can only be assumed that his minutes will continue to climb as the season goes along and he continues to recover from his preseason hamstring injury. A thought that should scare the rest of the college basketball world.
The thing that Dan Hurley has to be most pleased with is how dominating his Huskies’ defense looked with Tarris Reed Jr. anchoring the middle. The UConn defense did not surrender a made basket during the first 13 minutes of the game and held UMass Lowell to shooting 21.3% from the floor for the game. This was the first time UConn basketball has held an opponent to under 25% shooting since 2016, when UConn held UCF to 23.5% on the day.
Season predictions for Tarris Reed Jr and UConn basketball.
It is very much possible that Tarris Reed Jr. will be taking home some hardware this season. With the landscape of the Big East Conference, there are several possible contenders for Big East Player of the Year.
Zuby Ejifor of St. John’s, Chase Ross of Marquette, Owen Freeman of Creighton, and Bryce Lindsay of Villanova are all great candidates. However, Tarris Reed Jr. will have the best season of all of these players and will win the Big East Player of the Year trophy. He will average a double-double for the entire season and be in contention for the Pete Newell Big Man Award nationally.
Not only this, but he will help lead UConn to a Big East Regular Season and Conference Tournament Championship. This will set UConn up to be a 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they will be led by Tarris Reed Jr. to the Final Four. You heard it hear first, people.
Next for UConn basketball: vs. Columbia (Mon., Nov. 10 at 6:30 p.m. EST)
Next for UMass Lowell: vs. New Haven (Mon., Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. EST)
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