UConn basketball beat Furman 82-71 to move on to the round of 32 where they will play UCLA.
Despite the 2 versus 15 seed matchup and being favored by 20 points, it was not a smooth ride for the Huskies. Not too long before tip-off, it was announced that starting point guard Silas Demary Jr. would be unavailable for the contest because of an ankle injury sustained in the Big East Tournament final.
Missing such a critical player, UConn basketball needed someone to step up if they wanted to avoid the upset alert, and Tarris Reed Jr. answered that call. The gameplan was clearly to feed Reed Jr., and he rose to the occasion, making his first nine field goal attempts.
His dominance in the paint was needed while Furman was hot from behind the arc. Guards Alex Wilkins and Tom House went a combined 8-for-17 from three-point range and seemingly could not miss in the first half as they made plenty of tightly contested jumpers.
The Huskies held a four-point lead into halftime after Furman made a buzzer-beater to take some momentum into the break. The upset was brewing, and the Paladins felt it.
In the second half, the rest of the UConn offense started to show some more life. Alex Karaban had a quiet yet phenomenal showing as he finished with 21 points on 9 for 16 shooting. Braylon Mullins struggled hard from deep, but found his own way to contribute from the mid-range. Finally, Reed continued to dominate as he finished with a historic stat line of 31 points and 27 rebounds.
UConn basketball survives and advances despite Furman’s best Cinderella attempt. The Huskies have less than 48 hours to prepare for a blue blood clash with UCLA.
The bear had a feast
Tarris Reed Jr.’s incredible night was the first time since Elvin Hayes in 1968 that a player finished with 30+ points and 25+ rebounds in a tournament game. The star center has shown his ability to take over games before, but certainly nothing quite like this.
Tarris Reed Jr. against Furman:
31 points
27 rebounds!Was this the best individual UConn performance in the NCAA Tournament? pic.twitter.com/S5uXBAB6IX
— Step Back Cardiac Review (@CardiacCTReview) March 21, 2026
Excluding Reed Jr. and Karaban, UConn basketball shot 11-for-34 from the field and 1-for-16 from three-point range. These two seniors showed some serious leadership to carry their team through a tough night and onto the next round of the tournament.
Blue blood battle
Sunday night will be a battle of two extremely great college basketball programs. You have the “old” blood of UCLA, 11 national championships, going up against the “new” blood of UConn, six National Championships.
This UCLA Bruins team has gotten a lot of attention this week as a trendy Cinderella pick to make a run. Starting guard Donovan Dent certainly has the archetype to carry this squad to multiple wins, and head coach Mick Cronin has the underdog experience after bringing UCLA all the way to the 2021 Final Four despite being a play-in team.
UConn basketball is going to need Demary Jr. back on the court for this matchup to try to slow down Dent. With an 8:45 p.m. EST tip-off time, the Huskies have about as much time as humanely possible in the NCAA tournament to get healthy and try to break their shooting slump.
Dan Hurley’s Continued Success
This is Hurley’s fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament with at least one win, and over the past four tournaments, he has led the Huskies to 14 wins and counting. Friday night’s win was UConn’s 30th win of the season which they have accomplished in 3 of the last 4 seasons.
If there was anyone to put your faith in to get UConn basketball into the second weekend, it is Dan Hurley.