Tarris Reed Jr. has 31 points and 27 rebounds as No. 2 UConn beats Furman 82-71 in NCAA Tournament

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tarris Reed Jr. had 31 points and 27 rebounds in a dominant NCAA Tournament performance, leading second-seeded UConn to an 82-71 victory over Furman team on Friday night in the first round.

Alex Karaban added 22 points for UConn (30-5), which advanced to play UCLA in the second round of the East Region on Sunday.

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For about 36 minutes in Philadelphia, it sure looked like coach Dan Hurley and the Huskies had a chance of heading back home instead.

But Reed wouldn’t let them, the All-Big East center becoming the first player with 30-plus points and 25-plus rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game since Elvin Hayes did it twice in 1968.

The Huskies were 20 1/2-point favorites to thump a school most basketball fans couldn’t even find on a map. The real line that mattered was the final stat line: The Huskies missed 20 of 25 3-pointers with each clang off the rim seemingly sounding the dinner bell for the No. 15-seeded Paladins to come on in and pull off the seismic shocker.

With UConn up 61-52, Furman cheerleaders hit the court to lead fans in their wildly popular school chant.

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“FU one time, FU two times, FU three times, FU all the time!”

When Alex Wilkins hit a 3 to make it 69-64 and the Paladins (22-13) still stayed within five with 5:49 left, it seemed Furman was ready to kick up some dust on a tournament Friday filled with mostly chalk results.

But led by Reed, the Huskies had enough in a 12-4 run down the stretch to survive the first round.

UConn played without first team All-Big East selection Silas Demary Jr. after he suffered an ankle injury in the Big East Tournament; and Jaylin Stewart again sat out with a knee injury that’s sidelined him since late February.

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They were missed against a Furman team that beat top-seeded East Tennessee State to secure the Southern Conference Tournament and a NCAA Tournament bid.

The Huskies displayed cracks throughout the season — including a loss to St. John’s in the Big East Tournament title game — that threatened to prevent another long March Madness run for a program that expects it.

The injuries didn’t help. Neither did…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/tarris-reed-jr-31-points-050121907.html

Author : DAN GELSTON

Publish date : 2026-03-21 05:01:00

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