Reed-less No. 5 UConn pulls off 61-56 comeback win over No. 21 Kansas
Following a dominant 74-61 win over the No. 13 Illinois Fighting Illini, the No. 5 UConn men’s basketball team continued its gauntlet of a road schedule this past Tuesday night. The Huskies made the trip to the Allen Fieldhouse for their first true road match at No. 21 Kansas. Despite the tough environment, UConn got the job done, winning 61-56 in comeback fashion.
Both programs competed on Tuesday night shorthanded. The Jayhawks’ highly touted freshman guard, Darryn Peterson, missed his seventh contest in a row, nursing a hamstring injury. Tarris Reed Jr., who did play in Connecticut’s Nov. 28th showing against Illinois, albeit on a minute restriction, did not suit up against Kansas.
Whenever teams come through The Phog, the noise from the Kansas faithful always plays a role. Whether it’s an increase in pressure or programs just simply not accustomed to the noise, the Kansas crowd made its presence felt. For an offense like the Huskies’, which relies on communication and many complex sets, they certainly took a minute to get going, shooting less than 40% from the field. However, the same could not be said for Solo Ball.
Ball started off hot for Connecticut, accounting for over half of the program’s point total. When UConn trailed by as much as eight points, it was Ball who killed Kansas’ runs and clawed the Huskies back into the match. Ball finished with 12 first-half points on 4-8 shooting, including a solid 2-3 slash from beyond the arc. As well as the junior guard was playing, the Jayhawks had scorers to answer.
Elmarko Jackson led the scoring for Kansas, putting up eight points, including a pair of threes. Jamar McDowell also proved to be a thorn in Connecticut’s side, with six points of his own, thanks to knocking down two triples. As well as the duo performed shooting the three-ball, the first half belonged to Flory Bidunga.
Bidunga went into the halftime locker room after accumulating seven points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes of work. While the 6-foot-10 forward killed the Huskies on the boards, he was hardly unique in this regard; Kansas led the Huskies by a 22-13 margin.
Despite finishing with a nine-rebound disadvantage, the Huskies trailed by only four points, a testament to the high-level defense they displayed and to the early shooting of Braylon Mullins. The freshman guard scored eight points off a pair of difficult threes in just eight minutes off the bench. Similar to Ball, Mullins’ shots came at crucial times, when Kansas had real momentum and had a chance to jump out to a sizable lead. Postgame, head coach Dan Hurley discussed how impressive a performance Mullins put on and that he anticipates more to come.
“There’s been a lot of impressive freshman performances, obviously, this is a special freshman class. But, just to miss six weeks, with the type of injury he had to the knee and the ankle, and for this to be his second college game,” Hurley told the media. “This was a first step for him, and I think, obviously, he’s going to make our team a lot better moving forward.”
After 20 minutes of action, the Huskies narrowly trailed 33-29.
Coming into Tuesday night’s contest, the Jayhawks tout the No. 13 defense in the country, according to KenPom. Similar to the first 20 minutes of the night, the Kansas defense caused the Huskies fits. Connecticut struggled to cut into the Jayhawks’ lead; they weren’t getting many open shots. However, after a few minutes, this all changed.
Alex Karaban did not have a first half that he is accustomed to, finishing with just two points. However, when the Huskies needed him most in the second half, he came through. Karaban scored seven points in an excellent two-minute stretch at the 12-minute mark. Karaban finished the half with nine points on 4-8 shooting.
While it took Ball a bit of time to record a bucket, his contributions were massive. The junior guard added on five points in 13 minutes of work, including a massive three at the top of the key, giving the Huskies their largest lead of the night, 6, up to that point.
However, the most noticeable difference between the two halves was the battle on the boards. Despite Eric Reibe only being a freshman and Connecticut missing Reed, the Huskies flipped the script, outrebounding the Jayhawks by 15. This minimized Kansas’s offensive chances and maximized UConn’s scoring opportunities.
Riebe did a much better job at winning his matchup against Bidunga in the second half. Not only did Reibe hold him to just four points in the second half, but he also outrebounded him by a six-to-four margin. Postgame, Hurley emphasized that he believed past pain fueled not only the improved rebounding effort, but the overall difference maker in the final score.
“Just the pain of the Arizona game,” Hurley said. “The pain and realization that we lost that game in large part because we got outrebounded by 20, and got crushed with paint points, and I think you could see the growth with the team today.”
For as well as Reibe and the rest of the program rebounding, Mullins also played a significant role in the second half of Tuesday night’s contest. The freshman added on nine points in 15 minutes of work, including a pair of free throws that put Tuesday night on ice. Postgame, Mullins noted that, despite the moment and the noise, his preparation helped him knock down the pair of clutch free throws.
“We do a free-throw game every week. Every day, every practice, so I’m used to that. Didn’t bother me,” Mullins said.
After a pair of clutch free throws from Mullins to ice Tuesday night’s contest, UConn pulled off the 61-56 comeback win; arguably the program’s most complete win all season long.
For as impressive as UConn’s Tuesday night win over Kansas was, the out-of-conference gauntlet continues. While the Huskies should cruise to a comfortable win this Friday over East Texas A&M, they will be tasked with No. 10 Florida next Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic.
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