Revenge-minded UConn holds off Florida 77-73 at Jimmy V Classic
It’s easy to romanticize the roads not taken – to believe that better on-ball defense or more selective shot taking would’ve changed the outcome of a season-defining game.
The UConn men’s basketball team can’t change the result of its heart-throbbing 77-75 loss to Florida in last year’s Big Dance – which spurred the Gators on their run to dethrone the Huskies as national champions.
But peace doesn’t lay in rewriting the past. It lays in trusting the purpose of the present.
And in front of a raucous Madison Square crowd on Tuesday, the Huskies (9-1) exorcised their March demons, downing Florida (5-4) 77-73 in their penultimate non-conference game.
UConn benefitted from the return of Tarris Reed Jr. down low, who missed the previous two games with a nagging ankle injury. Reed established himself early and often in the low post, scoring six of UConn’s first 11 points and setting a crucial screen on Alex Karaban’s first 3-pointer of the evening.
Connecticut jumped out to an early 9-4 lead with Reed on the court, punctuated by a Silas Demary Jr. and-one that put the Huskies up seven before the first media timeout.
The Gators responded by rattling off nine of 11 points, including a Rueben Chinyelu lay-in under the rim to take a 13-11 lead (their first of the night) at the 13 minute mark – all of which happened with Reed off the floor.
Florida made hay on the glass – especially on second chance opportunities – in the first half. Chinyelu posted five boards (three offensive) while dealing with Reed on the block. Alex Condon, the crown jewel of the Florida frontcourt, contributed four rebounds and two assists in the first half.
Eleven offensive rebounds turned into extended possessions that allowed Xaivian Lee to fire open looks from all over the court.
The Princeton transfer scored 12 straight in the middle of the first half as a part of his 19-point, 5-assist day on the perimeter. An and-one from Lee as the buzzer for the under eight timeout of the first half gave Florida its largest lead of the night (7) and an offensive stabilizer in the backcourt.
But, much like March, Connecticut didn’t pull any punches. Solo Ball hit on a jumper to quell the Gator run before Eric Reibe slammed an open look down low possessions later to tie the game.
It was the start of a near-perfect Husky run, which saw Connecticut make nine consecutive field goals and hold the Gators to a 1-of-13 mark from the field in the fleeting minutes of the first half.
Reibe and Ball both added 3-pointers on ensuing Husky possessions, with Reibe’s triple igniting the Madison Square Garden crowd and stretching the UConn lead to seven.
UConn shot a sterling 50% from deep in the first half, hitting on 5-of-10 attempts from behind the arc to take a 39-32 lead into the break.
The first half can be epitomized in one word: runs.
Florida’s 12-0 run before the under 12 was countered by 12 of 15 from Connecticut at the under eight. Five straight from Ball and Stewart in the final two minutes of the half was combatted with five consecutive from Thomas Haugh. Jaylin Stewart added a lay-up in the final seconds to end the first half scoring.
The Gators charged out of the gate to open the second half, opening on a 10-3 run of their own to cut the deficit down to a single point at the 15 minute mark.
A Haugh 3-pointer from the break gave Florida its first lead of the half and forced a UConn timeout. Haugh finished with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, adding two rebounds in a 37 minute effort.
Both teams traded blows for the next six minutes, with neither team mounting a lead larger than two until the seven minute mark.
A Malachi Smith jumper flipped the lead back in favor of Connecticut before a pair of Lee free throws seesawed it back to the Gators.
Back-and-forth. Every possession.
That is, until Reibe deflected a Lee teardrop into the Florida backcourt, which was grabbed by Smith and pushed up the court in transition. Smith found Karaban along the right wing, who connected for his third three of the night to push the Huskies up four with a little under seven minutes remaining.
It felt like the definitive blow for the Huskies, who shifted into fend off mode for the remaining six minutes.
Condon added three the old fashioned way, Haugh a three pointer from the wing and Boogie Fland a pair of free throws. All attempts at a comeback for the Gators were neutralized by the Huskies, whose last eight points all came at the charity stripe.
Connecticut staved off a full-court Gator press for the final two minutes, made (most) of its free throws and bottlenecked Florida from the perimeter to end the game.
Full circle, some would say.
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