For the first time in almost 60 years, a player had at least 30 points and 25 rebounds in NCAA Tournament play, and that player was UConn’s Tarris Reed Jr, as he had 31 points and a career-high 27 rebounds on Friday night.
Most importantly, the (2) UConn(30-5) Huskies defeated the (15) Furman Paladins(22-13) 82-71 in their East Region first-round matchup at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.
UConn will battle (7) UCLA on Sunday night in the second round.
Back to Reed, the last player to have at least 30 and 25 was Elvin Hayes in 1968, and according to the senior center, he was looking to dominate against Furman.
“My mindset coming into the game is really just to be dominant,” Reed said. “This is my last March Madness. My days are numbered in college basketball. Just giving all I got and having fun with the guys around me. We have a special team and special coaching staff. Really just have fun and enjoy the process and enjoy the journey.”
Despite having 31 points and 27 rebounds, Reed felt like he could have done more.
“Yeah, I feel like I let my foot off the gas a little bit in that second half,” he said. “There was a period of stretch where I let a couple rebounds go by, wasn’t as strong with the ball. So I feel like playing that complete 40, not losing any bit of focus and trusting in the guys around me, trusting in my teammates. Feel like I could have done a better job playing the full 40.”
UConn coach Dan Hurley thinks Reed is an elite center and believes they need him to play at a high level to make a deep run in the tournament.
“He’s a top two or three center in the country,” Hurley said. “When he plays like that, we can win any game against any team in the tournament when we’re healthy. We can’t afford when Tarris just plays like a top-10 or top-15 center in the country. Then we’re not an elite team. We don’t necessarily need 31-27. But Tarris is a guy that every time he steps on the court should be 20-10.”
Notes:
For Furman, Tom House and Alex Wilkins had 21 points apiece.
Alex Karaban added 22 points for UConn.
Silas Demary Jr.(ankle) and Jaylin Stewart (knee) missed Friday’s game against Furman.
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