Why UConn's Reed Becoming Center of Attention in MSU's Gameplan

EAST LANSING, Mich. --- A (sort of) familiar face is probably going to cause some problems for Michigan State on Friday.

The third-seeded Spartans are starting their prep for second-seeded UConn in the Sweet Sixteen in Washington, D.C., and one of the Huskies' top players is a former Michigan Wolverine. Senior big man Tarris Reed Jr. is in his second season in the Connecticut program, and he's definitely a different player than he was in Ann Arbor.

Mar 14, 2026; New York, NY, USA; Connecticut Huskies center Tarris Reed Jr. (5) during the second half of the men's Big East Conference Tournament Championship game against the St. John's Red Storm at Madison Square Garden. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

"Reed's averaging 16 points and 14 rebounds in the last five games, so his game has taken a monstrous jump," Tom Izzo said Monday. "And with that size [at 6-foot-11, 265 pounds], that's going to be something."

Reed is making his last college season his best one, averaging a team-high 14.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game across the whole year. He was an absolute monster during UConn's first-round win over Furman, scoring 31 points and grabbing 27 rebounds. The stat line is so good that his 10-point, 13-rebound double-double against UCLA on Sunday feels sluggish.

Controlling the Offensive Boards

MSU would get every rebound possible in Izzo's perfect world. Real life is a little different, but the Spartans are fourth in the nation in average rebound margin (plus-11.4), ranking ninth at KenPom in offensive glass and first in defensive glass.

Reed provides a pretty good counter to that. Limiting Reed's effectiveness on the offensive boards is key for Izzo and Michigan State's bigs. That Furman game featured 11 o-boards alone from Reed. Yeah, it's Furman, but 11 offensive rebounds in a game against air is impressive.

There is also consistency behind it. Reed has gotten at least two offensive rebounds in 25 of the 31 games he's played in this season. He's entering Friday's matchup on an eight-game streak of having at least three o-boards, averaging 4.9 across that span, including 5.2 in his last five.

Previous Encounters

Mar 19, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Connecticut Huskies center Tarris Reed Jr. (5) responds in a press conference during a practice session ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Of course, Izzo and MSU's starting senior big men, Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper, have faced Reed before. Michigan State went 3-1 against Michigan during Reed's two seasons there, with Reed averaging 8.3 points and 7.8 rebounds during those games.

Izzo doesn't seem to think those past plans for containing Reed are super relevant now. He's evolved in his two years under Dan Hurley's system.

Michigan State's Jaxon Kohler looks on during a game against North Dakota State during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

"I would have [no tape] from his days at Michigan, because he was a completely, completely different player," he said. "Young, inexperienced, not the same body, and maturity. And [Cooper] and [Kohler] weren't playing that much either. So I would have none on that. I would do a lot of film work, which we
are doing right now, on how he's playing now and how he's been now."

Reed did not play during the Spatans' exhibition at UConn on Oct. 28 due to a hamstring injury. That adds another layer of intrigue on how Michigan State may look to stop/contain him, because they never got the chance to put that on tape when these two teams met nearly five months ago.