WASHINGTON — UConn coach Dan Hurley said teams need seniors in March and beyond. Tarris Reed Jr. and Alex Karaban proved his point on Friday night.
Reed scored 20 points, Karaban added 17 and each proved crucial in the late exchanges as second-seeded UConn defeated third-seeded Michigan State 67-63 to reach the NCAA Tournament East Region final.
Solo Ball added 12 points for UConn, which advanced despite giving back all of an early 19-point lead and getting outrebounded 39-30.
“That’s what this time of year is all about,” said Hurley, whose Huskies are seeking a third national title in four years. “You’ve got to have great upperclassmen. You have to have great juniors, great seniors, veteran players that are not going to blink and just can handle the pressure of the moment and also can bounce back from maybe a stretch.”
The Huskies (32-5) will have to get past Duke, the tournament’s top overall seed, to reach another Final Four when the storied programs clash on Sunday. The Blue Devils outlasted fifth-seeded St John’s 80-75 earlier on Friday.
Carson Cooper scored 14 points for Michigan State (27-8), which was seeking its 12th Elite Eight appearance under coach Tom Izzo.
Coen Carr and Jeremy Fears Jr. had 13 points each while Jaxon Kohler scored 12 for the Spartans, who lost three of their last five to close the season.
“They reared their real heads and fought back against a really good team, and they showed me a lot of character,” Izzo said. “They showed me a lot of why I love them and why it’s so important to me to have relationships with guys.”
Having relinquished their lead only minutes earlier, the Huskies went in front for good on a 10-3 run in the middle of the second half.
Reed started it with a jump hook in the paint, Karaban followed with a 3-pointer from the wing, Ball sank a pair of free throws and a basket, and Jayden Ross’ free throw made it 56-49 with 5:10 to play.
“We punched them first, they responded,” said Karaban, who was on Hurley’s 2023 and 2024 championship teams. “And it’s really just how are we going to respond?”
From there, UConn had an answer every time Michigan State got within one or two. Karaban sank a trey to make it 61-57, Reed hit two foul shots to make it 63-60, and Karaban and Reed each hit both ends of 1-and-1s in the last minute.
Reed came through on the free throws even though he has hit less than 60% from the foul line this season.
“I feel like I put in the work,” he said. “The guys around me were like, ‘T, trust. We see you do the free-throw game every day. You put in the work every day and we see you at the free-throw line. So I took a deep breath and took my time at the line.”
Michigan State failed to make a field goal for a stretch of 8:47 early in the first half as UConn seized a 25-6 lead.
“Mark my words, they’re a real good team, but we didn’t look like ourselves (early),” Izzo said.
It was still a 15-point advantage before the Spartans countered with a 16-2 run that spanned across halftime. Michigan State closed within 35-34 when Carr sank a layup, but he could not complete a three-point play.
The Spartans finally edged in front for the first time since the opening exchanges when Kohler’s transition layup began a three-point play that made it 45-44 with 10:06 to play.
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
