University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
30-5,17-3Big East
Furman
22-13,10-8SoCon
Reed Jr.'s Historic Night Leads #2 UConn Past #15 Furman
3/21/2026 2:42:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA – Tarris Reed Jr. turned in one of the great March Madness performances in the modern history of the tournament, erupting for 31 points and 27 rebounds to lead the two-seed UConn men's basketball team (30-5) to an 82-71 win over No. 15 Furman (22-13) late on Friday night in the First Round of the 2026 East Regional at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Reed Jr. became the first player in 58 years to record a 30p-25r line in an NCAA Tournament and one of three men (Elvin Hayes and Jerry Lucas the others) to ever post such a line in the Big Dance.
The huge performance from the big man helped the Huskies overcome a cold shooting day from the outside and hold a hot-shooting Paladin squad at bay. UConn led by only four at the break, before Alex Karaban scored15 of his 22 points in the second half to support Reed Jr. and help sustain the lead. Reed Jr. out-rebounded Furman by his lonesome as he posted career-highs in scoring and on the glass, shattering his previous high marks of 24 and 18. He was 12-of-15 from the field and 7-of-9 from the line, adding three assists for good measure.
Braylon Mullins was the third Husky in double-figures with 12 points, adding a career-high six assists and three clutch steals. Solo Ball finished with nine points and five rebounds, while Malachi Smith dished out seven assists in his first start of the season. For Furman, Tom House and Alex Wilkins both scored 21 points and combined to hit eight 3-pointers.
How it Happened
The Huskies opened the aggressor, putting home the game's first three baskets in a game-starting 9-2 run. A trio of 3-pointers from Wilkins, who scored 11 of Furman's first 13 points, pulled the Paladins within one ahead of a timeout at 12:00 with the score 16-15. At 10:05 Furman briefly took its first lead, before a run of four-straight buckets from Reed Jr. gave the Huskies a 26-19 edge with 8:11 on the first half timer.
The Paladins used the three-ball to keep it tight in the first, and one from Tom House cut the lead to 33-31 at 3:19 to play. The Huskies answered that with a 9-2 mini-run keyed by Reed Jr. and Mullins, before Furman's sixth triple of the opening stanza cut the lead to four with UConn taking a 40-36 advantage to the half. The lead came despite a dismal 1-of-14 start from three thanks to Reed Jr.'s monstrous 19-point, 16-rebound first half double-double.
A strong start to the second half included much-needed 3-pointer makes from Ball and Karaban, with the latter scoring seven points during a 10-4 burst to start the frame that prompted a Furman timeout at 17:24 with the Huskies ahead 50-40. At 13:35 another Karaban triple pushed the lead back to 51-42 after Furman closed within six.
The Paladins kept coming with the three ball to keep the Huskies from pulling away, and another from Wilkins at 6:41 cut the lead to 69-64. A Mullins steal and a runaway slam from Reed Jr. at 5:02 got the lead back to seven at 72-65. Mullins came away with another swipe on the ensuing possession and minutes later, Karaban delivered a dagger 3-pointer at 2:06 to push the lead to 11 and put the game on ice. UConn did not let Furman within single-digits the rest of the way.
Inside The Numbers
- UConn shot 49.2 percent (32-65) from the field and 20.0 percent (5-25) from three, connecting at a 67.5 percent (27-40) clip inside the arc
- Conversely, Furman shot 44.7 percent (21-47) from the field and 37.5 percent (9-24) from 3-point range
- The Huskies out-scored the Paladins 46-24 in the paint
- Connecticut finished with a 44-23 edge on the glass and turned 18 offensive rebounds into a 16-6 advantage in second chance points
- In the first half, Reed Jr. scored 19 points on 8-of-8 shooting and grabbed 16 rebounds
- It was the highest rebounding half for a UConn player in an NCAA Tournament game under the current seeding format (since 1979)
- Per ESPN research, it was the first half in any game of at least 15 points and 15 rebounds on perfect shooting from the field in the last eight years
- He out-rebounded Furman in the first 20, 16-14
- UConn dished out 22 assists on 32 field goals, assisting on 68.9 percent of field goals – the Huskies rank seventh nationally with a 65.1 A/FGM percent
- The Huskies were +2 in turnover margin, coughing it up only nine times
News and Notes
- UConn improves to 3-0 all-time against Furman
- Connecticut is 73-33 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and 22-5 in the First Round since seeding began in 1979
- Dan Hurley is 16-5 in the Big Dance all-time and 14-3 at UConn – his .762 March Madness winning percentage is the fifth-best of any coach with at least 15 games coached in the history of the tournament
- Reed Jr. finished with career-highs of 31 points and 27 rebounds
- It was the sixth NCAA Tournament game with at least 30 points and 25 rebounds in the history of the big dance and the first in 58 years – Elvin Hayes did it three times for Houston in 1966 and 1968, while Jerry Lucas did it twice for Ohio State in 1960 and 1961
- It was only the third 30-25 game in any game since 2007
- He became the second player since 1995 with at least 30 points and 20 boards in an NCAA Tournament game (Zach Edey, 2024 first round)
- It marked the second 25-rebound game in the Big Dance since 1977 (Oscar Tshiebwe, 2023 first round the last) and the 15th 25-board game ever
- He recorded his second first half double-double this season, needing only 11:50 of game time to double up
- It was his 11th double-double of the season and the 21st of his career
- The 27 rebounds marked the second-most in a game in UConn NCAA Tournament history, behind only Toby Kimball's 29 in the 1965 Round of 32
- It was the second time a Husky has snared 10 offensive rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game since the stat was recorded, last done by Kevin Freeman in the 1999 Elite Eight
- Karaban became UConn's all-time leader in 3-pointers made with his first of the day, his 277th career trifecta to break a tie with Rashad Anderson
- He also extended his program records for games played (146), starts (145) and wins (122)
- Improved to 14-1 in the NCAA Tournament – he and Villanova's Phil Booth (2016-19) are the only players this millennium to go 14-1 in a 15-game span in the NCAA Tournament
- His first basket broke a tie with Kemba Walker (1,783) for ninth on the all-time scoring list, and his second moved him past Ryan Boatright (1,786) into eighth … he now sits at 1,805, five behind Corny Thompson (1,810) in seventh
- Malachi Smith made his first official start as a Husky after appearing in UConn's first 34 games as a reserve
- Alec Millender, Mullins, Eric Reibe and Smith made their respective NCAA Tournament debuts
Up Next
The Huskies will take on 7-seed UCLA in a battle of two of the bluest bloods in the sport in the Second Round on Sunday, with tip from South Philadelphia set for approximately 8:45 p.m.
