Biggest matchup UConn must exploit to take down Illinois in Final Four

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Braylon Mullins and his place in NCAA Tournament history sparked Monday conversations involving UConn basketball. That epic 3-point basket with 0.3 left capped the epic comeback over Duke. UConn returns to the Final Four stage thanks to Mullins’ heroics, but face a red-hot Illinois team next.

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The Illini have rebuilt their proud program thanks to head coach Brad Underwood. His Illinois teams beat its March Madness foes in multiple ways; from high-powered offense to turning up its half court defense.

The Big Ten representative even took down one National Championship game favorite to get here: Stunning Houston in the round of 16. They then turned to a late second half surge to topple rival Iowa Saturday in the Elite Eight.

UConn already enters Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis as the 2.5-point underdog per FanDuel Sportsbook. But here’s where the Huskies can exploit Illinois at Indy.

Create attack lanes for Tarris Reed Jr.

Illinois lures a deep lineup of towering size to the home of the Indianapolis Colts this weekend.

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Except UConn brings one of the nation’s most physically dominating centers to counter them.

Head coach Dan Hurley will get Reed the ball. His powerful 6-foot-11 frame creates physical mismatches underneath the rim.

However, Hurley must become more creative with forming attack lanes for Reed. He’ll need to use his brain cells in figuring out how to crack this newly recharged Illini defense.

Illinois frustrated prized Houston freshman Kingston Flemings through zone pressure and keeping him out of the paint. With respect to Flemings, he’s not an inside banger in the mold of Reed. But count on Illinois head coach Underwood to try and get Reed into foul trouble plus limit his inside touches.

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It’s up to Hurley to free up Reed inside, which could mean using forward Alex…

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Publish date : 2026-03-31 02:35:00

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