UConn's Dan Hurley Details First Round Struggles Without Two Players
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The UConn Huskies opened their NCAA Tournament run with an 82-71 win over Furman, pushing their record to 30-5. UConn shot 49.2% from the field, dominated the glass 44-23, and still couldn’t shake a 15-seed that kept punching back.
Tarris Reed Jr. carried the night with a 31-point, 27-rebound performance, becoming the first player in nearly six decades to hit that mark in the tournament. He out-rebounded Furman by himself in stretches, including a ridiculous 19-point, 16-rebound first half.
Meanwhile, Alex Karaban added 22 points, with 15 coming after the break, while Braylon Mullins came in with 12, six assists, and three steals. It was that production that carried the Huskies, considering UConn only shot 20.0 percent (5-of-25) from three.
Soon after the game, Dan Hurley spoke to the press and revealed that Furman reminded him of some teams the Huskies had played before.
"I mean, when I started watching them on film, I started having a little bit of a flashback to New Mexico State, where I was like, 'Oh, this is a really good team.’ And I was having a bit of a Buffalo 2022 flashback, too, just because they were so tall,” said Hurley.
That New Mexico State flashback stings. Back in the 2021-22 NCAA Tournament, the Huskies lost to New Mexico State by a 70-63 upset in the first-round game. In that game, UConn struggled to limit Teddy Allen, who scored 37 points. Furman had its very own Allen in Alex Wilkins, who scored 21 points.
As Hurley himself puts it, “You don’t play many 15-seeds, or mid-majors, that legitimately go 6’10”, 6’11” at the four and five. Both guys are skilled. And then when I saw them at the open practice yesterday, walking down the hallway, I was stunned at how tall Wilkins was, how tall Hothouse was, and how tall (Asa) Thomas was, their wings. They were just a really big, tall team.”
Alex Wilkins scored 11 of the team’s first 13 points and finished with 21, hitting four threes. Tom House matched him with 21 of his own, also making four triples and going 7-of-9 from the line. House and Wilkins together shot eight threes on a night the Huskies struggled to make them. Meanwhile, the Buffalo game ended with the Huskies winning 84-64.
That win came after adjusting to a defense that crowded Adama Sanogo, something that happened to Reed Jr. in this Furman game. However, in the 2022 game, Tristen Newton came in with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists, turning the game.
Dan Hurley Says He Forsaw a Tough Opener Game
To Hurley, however, the Furham game’s cold shooting did not come as much of a surprise.
“We knew it was going to be a hard-fought game. Obviously, we’re missing a starting point guard who would have been a much better matchup for Wilkins, because Silas has size and is a ball hawk, and maybe could have made it a little tougher on him. And then Jaylin Stewart being out too, who’s our sixth man, so we knew it was going to be a hard game,” added Hurley.
Silas Demary Jr., who had to be carried off in the Big East title game after an ankle injury, was available, but clearly not at full capacity. His defensive presence, especially against a hot guard like Wilkins, was a major missing factor. Meanwhile, Jaylin Stewart remained out with a knee issue. While not a headline scorer, his 4.5 points and steady rotation role matter in games like this.
The Huskies now face No. 7 seed UCLA in the second round, a team coming off a 75-71 win over UCF and entering with a 24-11 record. Like UConn, the Bruins are coming off a conference tournament loss, falling 66-73 to Purdue.
UCLA ranks No. 1 in the Big Ten in three-point shooting and No. 6 in free-throw percentage. They’ve also gone 4-6 against top-25 teams this season. Seven players on the roster have NCAA Tournament experience, and multiple transfers like Donovan Dent and Xavier Booker bring even more postseason exposure.
-fd44250df32912986cc6690f0b8bfa32.png "Shivani Menon")
Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.