UConn coach Dan Hurley admitted he was surprised upon learning center/forward Tarris Reed Jr. was not in full strength on Saturday in the Huskies game against Butler due to a stomach bug..
Hurley and his squad managed to put out the Bulldogs 78-74 and improve to 10-3 (2-0 in Big East). The two-champion coach needed to use his motivational skills to encourage the Michigan transfer to play in the game despite his condition.
"I turned to the bench and asked, why does Tarris look like a zombie? Tom (assistant coach Tom Moore) came all over and told me he'd been sick all night," Hurley told CT Insider writer David Borges.
The 6-foot-10 junior eventually played for the Huskies and suited up for 23 minutes. He ended up with seven points on 2-of-4 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Reed grabbed six rebounds but coughed up three turnovers before fouling out with 1:16 left.
UConn beats Butler on Alex Karaban's big night
UConn notched their sixth straight win and remained unbeaten in the Big East after edging past Butler 78-74 on Saturday in the 2024-25 college basketball season.
Alex Karaban scored 21 points, including two late 3-pointers, for the No. 11 Huskies, who stormed to a 27-12 start only to exert a ton of effort in the endgame when Butler tied it at 63.
Karaban shot 7 of 16 from the field, including 4 of 9 from the 3-point line. He also tallied six rebounds, one steal and one block in 35 minutes. Liam McNeeley added 17 markers, five rebounds and seven assists. McNeeley made a 3-point play that gave UConn a 66-63 edge with 4:18 left.
Butler reduced the lead to one point on Kolby King's free throws and Karaban responded with a 3-pointer to give the Huskies a 69-65 edge. Patrick McCaffery and Hassan Diarra traded baskets two plays later and McCaffery made two foul shots to cut the deficit to two, 71-69.
Karaban buried a triple that handed UConn a five-point edge with 59 seconds left. Diarra and McNeeley made two free throws each to seal the victory for the Huskies. Diarra contributed 12 points, four rebounds, seven assists, three steals and one block for UConn, who zoomed into the early lead in the Big East Conference standings along with St. John's (10-2).
UConn will have an 11-day respite and next play on January 1 against DePaul at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago.
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