Second Half Flurry Sends UConn to the Sweet 16

#2 Connecticut Huskies Moves On After Downing the 7th Seeded UCLA Bruins 73 – 57

PHILADELPHIA, PA. 3/22/2026 –

It was a close game until UConn put on a second half run midway through to post a 73 – 57 win over UCLA. The Huskies advance and will play the 3rd seeded Michigan State Spartans in the Eastern Regional Semifinal in Washington, DC.

UCLA was determined early to not let Tarris Reed, Jr. beat them. He was coming off a 30 – 20 + points/rebounds performance against Furman. In this game Reed was ‘limited’ to 10 points and 13 rebounds. Meanwhile Alex Karaban stepped up for the Huskies scoring 27 points on 9 of 16 shooting, 4 of 8 from distance, and went 5 for 5 from the foul line. Reed scored late, Karaban scored throughout. Braylon Mullins added 17 points. For UCLA Xavier Booker led the way with 13 points.

The Deciding Run

It was a close game with the Huskies up by 5 as the half. The Bruins led 44 – 42 at the 15:40 mark. UConn responded by going on a 15 – 0 run keyed by two three-pointers by Karaban to pull out to a 56 – 44 lead with just over ten minutes to play.

The Bruins cut the gap to 56 – 52 with just two minutes later and stayed there with just under seven and a half minutes on the clock. The Huskies put the game away with an 11 – 1 run and a 67 – 54 edge.

What the Numbers Say

Connecticut had another other player score in double figures. Jayden Ross scored 11 and had 2 steals. Malachi Smith dished out 6 assists. The Huskies won the battle of the boards 36 – 24 and had a 30 – 20 edge in points in the paint. Karaban drained a game-best 4 made from three-point land.

Eric Dailey, Jr. scored 12 for the Bruins while Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark added 11 apiece. Booker and Dailey grabbed a team-best 5 boards each. Dent handed out a game-high 9 assists. UCLA made 38.8% from the floor compared to 46.9% for UConn.

Up Next

Only 16 teams are left standing. And a Number One seed is gone the defending national champion Florida Gators. The tournament will be really interesting now. And if the games are as good as they have been, it will be a classic. Michigan State and UConn in Washington also with Duke and St. John’s. Two from the Big East one from the ACC and Big Ten.

Stay tuned.

Written By: Glenn Papazian

Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com