See you on Sunday. UConn men’s basketball survived a late scare in the Sweet 16, knocking off No. 3 seed Michigan State, 67-63, to advance to the Elite Eight for the third time in the last four seasons.
Tarris Reed Jr. and Alex Karaban paced the offensive attack again for the Huskies, scoring 20 and 17 points, respectively, hitting some clutch free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
UConn led by as many as 19 in the first half and lost the lead in the second half, avoiding one of the biggest comebacks in NCAA Tournament history.
The Huskies (32-5) started the game red hot from three, hitting six of their first nine shots from the perimeter. Solo Ball finished with 12 points, and Braylon Mullins added eight, with the duo combining to shoot 4-10 from deep after poor performances in the first two rounds.
Michigan State (27-8) came into the day after a pair of convincing wins during the first weekend in Buffalo, over North Dakota State and Louisville. Tom Izzo has had the Spartans in the NCAA Tournament every year since 1998 and guided the team to a second-place finish in a loaded Big Ten this season.
Karaban and Mullins got the Husky offense started early by each knocking down a three, but it was Reed who dropped down an early exclamation point with a driving slam from the perimeter to put UConn up 8-4.
Mullins joined the dunk party after the timeout, and Malachi Smith came off the bench and banged a three to make it 13-5. The UConn defense held Michigan State without a field goal for 8:47 of game action, building the lead up to 18-6 after a Ball three by the under-12 and triggering an angry timeout from Izzo.
Jaylin Stewart, playing in his first game since February 21 after being out with a knee injury, made an immediate impact off the bench, drilling a corner three to push the lead to 21-6. Another Ball three followed by a Stewart free throw made it 25-6, capping the Husky run at 22-2 before Coen Carr finally broke the seal again for the Spartans.
Michigan State took some momentum after that, going on a 6-0 spurt to get back in striking distance. Reed began to take over from there, scoring three straight field goals for the Huskies, including a three-point play opportunity that made it 33-18, but he couldn’t finish the job at the foul line.
After starting 0-6 compared to the Huskies’ blazing 6-8 start from three, the Spartans finally broke through with a triple from Jaxon Kohler. Then, a Carr layup around the two-minute mark cut the deficit down to 10 at 33-23 and forced a Hurley timeout to regroup.
A pair of Kohler free throws got it back to single digits, but Ball answered quickly with a reverse layup. Jeremy Fears Jr. responded with a basket to make it 35-27, and that was the score at the break after UConn committed its fifth turnover of the final seven minutes of the half while holding for the last shot.
Leading by as many as 19, the lead was only eight at halftime and trending in the wrong direction. Still, having the early 22-2 run allows you to have some wiggle room, and the Huskies were still in the driver's seat.
Michigan State scored the first seven points of the second half thanks to a three-point play from Carson Cooper and a pair of baskets from Carr. Mullins finally got UConn on the board with a deep three, and Reed followed it up with a scoop-and-score flush to make it 40-34.
The Spartans would continue their surge, taking a 45-44 lead after a three-point play from Kohler, just for Reed to steal the lead right back on the other end. Cooper and Reed would trade baskets again after that, making it 48-47 Huskies with nine minutes to play.
Karaban buried a timely three in response, but a Fears layup made it 51-49 by the under-8 timeout. Ball would score the next four points to build some breathing room, but the Huskies only led 58-55 by the final media timeout.
After a UConn turnover, Cooper threw down another slam, and Hurley called a time-out to draw up a play with 1:50 to go. He had Reed kick it out to Karaban from the post, and Karaban buried a deep three to put the Huskies up four.
Fears answered quickly, splashing a clutch three of his own to get it back to one.
Reed was fouled underneath with less than a minute to play and confidently knocked down both at the line to make it 63-60. Izzo called a timeout to draw something up with 42.5, and Fears got fouled on a drive, hitting both to make it 63-62 with 32.3 to play.
Karaban calmly hit two free throws to push it back to three. Cooper would get fouled with four seconds left, hitting the first and intentionally missing the second. Reed grabbed the rebound, sealing the game by hitting both free throws to secure the 67-63 win.
Next up, the Huskies are set to face No. 1 seed Duke in the Elite Eight in Washington, D.C. on Sunday. Tip-off is set for 5:05 p.m. from Capital One Arena, and the game will be televised on CBS.
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