UConn 67-63 Michigan State (Mar 27, 2026) Game Recap
WASHINGTON — — One of Tarris Reed Jr..’s few weaknesses is free-throw capturing.
With the season within the steadiness, the UConn large man got here via on the line.
Reed scored 20 factors, Alex Karaban added 17, and each made pressure-packed free throws within the ultimate minute that helped second-seeded UConn maintain off third-seeded Michigan State 67-63 within the Sweet 16 on Friday night time. Reed, a 59% foul shooter this season, made all 4 of his makes an attempt within the ultimate minute.
“I feel like I put in the work. The guys around me were like, ‘T, trust. We see you do free throw game every day, You put in the work every day and we see you at the free-throw line,'” Reed stated. “So I took a deep breath and took my time on the line.”
The Huskies (32-5) led 61-60 when Reed made two foul pictures with 44.8 seconds to play. Then Jeremy Fears Jr.. made two for Michigan State with 32.3 remaining.
Karaban was fouled with 22.5 seconds to go. He made each ends of a one-and-one to provide UConn a three-point lead, and after Michigan State was unable to discover a fast shot, Kur Teng‘s 3-pointer missed.
A foul was referred to as on the Huskies on the rebound with 4.6 seconds remaining. Carson Cooper made the primary for Michigan State. He missed the second — it didn’t look like intentional — and Reed rebounded. His two free throws successfully sealed the win.
UConn advances to a real heavyweight conflict in Sunday’s ultimate of the NCAA Tournament’s East Region towards Top-seeded Duke.
Michigan State (27-8) overcame an early 19-point deficit however bowed out on an evening the Spartans shot simply 4 of 16 from 3-point vary.
“Give our guys credit. We bounced back and picked away,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo stated. “Our goal in the second half was to play much better. We just kind of wore down.”
The 4 groups that arrived in Washington this week have mixed for 13 nationwide titles, so it was no shock that each video games Friday had been pulsating. Duke’s 80-75 win over St. John’s within the opener got here right down to the previous couple of seconds.
It checked out first just like the second recreation would not. Malachi Smith, Solo Ball and Jaylin Stewart mixed for 4 3-pointers throughout a 15-1 run that put UConn up 25-6. The Spartans needed to clamp down defensively over the ultimate three minutes simply to path 35-27 at halftime.
Michigan State scored the primary seven factors of the second, however the Huskies pushed again. After a steal and dunk by Reed put UConn again up by six, Huskies coach Dan Hurley started waving his arms wildly on the followers behind his bench, exhorting them to be louder.
The Spartans did not waver. A 3-point play by Jaxon Kohler with 10:06 to play put Michigan State up 45-44.
A brief scoring drought by the Spartans allowed UConn to take a 56-49 lead, however it stayed tight till the tip. The Huskies led 58-57 when Karaban — who was essential all night time — made a 3.
“He’s a calming influence for me,” the excitable Hurley stated earlier than pausing. “I’m waiting for you to laugh. It’s like having an associate head coach that is in the locker room, that lives in the apartments, that is in the dining room, that is in the weight room, that’s peer pressing his teammates to do extra. It’s like having a top assistant that’s on your team and always around your players.”
Stewart, who had been sidelined since late February due to a knee harm, got here again and performed 3 minutes for UConn, connecting on his solely 3-point try.
Michigan State: Cooper and Kohler are each seniors, however Izzo is exhibiting little signal of slowing down at this stage of his profession.
UConn: The Huskies’ matchup with Duke would possibly really feel extra like a Final Four recreation. In reality, they met within the 1999 title recreation, with UConn profitable.
——
This model removes an inaccurate reference to Ball’s format making it 56-49.
——
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and protection: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
