NEW YORK CITY — The UConn Huskies notched another marquee win at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, taking down the No. 18 Florida Gators, 77-73, in a game where Dan Hurley’s squad led for 29 minutes even though it saw eight lead changes.
UConn (9-1) jumped out to an early lead after two quick buckets from Tarris Reed Jr., starting for the first time since the Illinois game on November 28, where he only played 15 minutes. After a three from Alex Karaban, it was 7-2, and then 11-6 after lay-ups from Reed and Silas Demary Jr.
But Florida went on a 12-0 run from there, before a Solo Ball jumper stopped the bleeding. Ball came alive, scoring from a variety of spots to lead the Huskies with 12 points at halftime. The Huskies had Eric Reibe and Jaylin Stewart going with seven points each as they took a 39-32 lead into the break.
Florida closed in early in the second half and tied it up at 46 seven minutes in, and briefly pulled ahead, but UConn answered right back with a run of its own as Braylon Mullins scored all six of his points in the second half before fouling out.
UConn was losing the battle on the glass, but shooting better the entire night, finishing 50 percent from the field and 44 percent from three. Ball finished with a team-high 19 points while Reed had 13, Karaban had 19 and Reibe finished with nine points. The Huskies won despite being outrebounded, 40-28.
Next up, the Huskies are in Hartford to host Texas on Friday night.
The Longhorns are currently outside of the Top 25 and ranked No. 54 in KenPom, with a notable win over NC State and losses to Duke, Arizona State, and Virginia. That will be UConn’s final non-conference game before opening Big East play against Butler on Tuesday, December 16.
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