Tarris Reed's 31-27 night helps UConn survive in NCAA tournament

Tarris Reed Jr. delivered a historic NCAA tournament performance, scoring 31 points on 12-of-15 shooting and pulling down 27 rebounds to lift UConn to an 82-71 victory over Furman.

He joined Bill Walton as the only players in the past 60 years to post 30+ points and 20+ rebounds on 80% shooting in an NCAA tournament game.

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Reed later said he felt like he let his foot off the gas a little in the second half.

UConn (30-5) needed Reed's production, along with 22 points from Alex Karaban, to advance to play UCLA in the East Region's second round.

Coach Dan Hurley praised Reed, calling him 'that guy' and saying it was 'as dominant a performance as you've probably seen from a big guy in tournament history'.

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UConn played without Silas Demary Jr. after an ankle injury, and Jaylin Stewart remained sidelined with a knee injury, with Hurley hoping one or both will play Sunday.

Furman shot 48% in the first half and buried six 3-pointers, including Charles Johnston's first-half buzzer-beater that cut UConn's lead to 40-36.

After Johnston's dunk early in the second half and a 3 by Tom House that made it 56-50, Furman briefly challenged before UConn pulled away.

The Paladins earned their bid by beating top-seeded East Tennessee State to win the Southern Conference tournament, and Furman has made just two NCAA tournaments since 1980, including a buzzer-beater to topple No. 4 Virginia in 2023.

They couldn't finish off another March upset against one of basketball's big dogs, despite Johnston's buzzer-beater and House's 21 points.

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