UConn takes down Georgetown in Big East semis, 67-51
· Yahoo Sports
UConn men’s basketball is back in the Big East Championship Game after defeating Georgetown on Friday night, 67-51, in Madison Square Garden. UConn led for over 38 minutes and by as much as 19 points. The Huskies dominated the glass and notched an assist on 21 of their 28 field goals, including eight from Tarris Reed Jr.
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Braylon Mullins led all scorers with 21 points, including 15 in the first half, as he finished 8-of-17 from the field. Silas Demary Jr. scored 10 points and pulled down nine rebounds. For the Hoyas, Vince Iwuchukwu had a team-high 11 points, and Julius Halaifonua had 10 points. UConn held the big men in check, relatively speaking.
The Huskies have been to one Big East Championship Game since rejoining the league in 2020, in 2024; they defeated Marquette on their way to a second straight national title. They will meet top-seeded St. John’s on Saturday.
UConn got off to an early 9-2 lead with buckets from Ball and Mullins. The freshman scored 7 of the first 9 points for the Huskies. Jayden Ross checked in at 13:30 and quickly made his presence felt with a quick rebound and assist.
Georgetown closed in after that initial burst. At the under-12-minute timeout, UConn was up 13-10. A Jeremiah Williams three-pointer and an Iwuchukwu and-one got the Hoyas back into the game. Karaban got on the board with a triple after the timeout.
Reed brought his stellar defense with a perfectly timed block as Jayden Fort went up for a slam. The ball ricocheted off multiple players and landed on Fort as he was out of bounds, giving UConn possession. On the other end, the Huskies gained momentum in transition with an up-and-under layup from Reed.
Demary then swiped the ball from Malik Mack and sent it to Ross, who threw it down to go up 20-12. The Husky defense was turning into offense, and Reed finished with three blocks.
The Tarris Reed Jr. show got started with just under seven minutes to go in the first half. Demary tossed up a lob to Reed off a pick-and-roll, and the big man slammed it over the 7-footer Halaifonua. On the next possession, Reed threaded the needle to a cutting Karaban for a layup to pick up his fourth assist of the night.
Late in the first half, Reed picked up another block, which was sent to Mullins on the other end as he finished with a sweet up-and-under layup. UConn went into the halftime break up 32-21 with Mullins scoring 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting. Williams was leading the Hoyas at the break with just 5 points. Both teams shot a combined 3-for-23 from downtown. The Huskies did not shoot a single free throw for the entirety of the first half.
Ball got UConn going out of the halftime locker room, hitting a triple to put UConn up a dozen. He picked up his 2nd foul early in the first half and sat for the remaining 14 minutes of the period. Mullins followed it with another one from beyond the arc to put him up to 18 points on the night. Reed was doing a little bit of everything, picking up his sixth assist as he hit Demary on the top of the key for his first three of the game to go up 41-27.
Georgetown went on a quick 6-0 run as soon as Reed checked out of the game. Reibe delivered some solid minutes as he finished with eight points.
The Huskies kept the lead to 10 points for the majority of the second half. Georgetown cut the lead to eight on a Caleb Williams triple, and Kayvaun Mulready missed a three-pointer, which would have made it a 5-point game. UConn fed the ball to Reed in the post. Reed, as if he had eyes on the back of his head, swung a skip pass to a wide-open Ross for three to put it back to an 11-point game.
UConn finally saw the free-throw line at the 6:20 mark. Reed picked up his 4th foul with 5:58 to play, Reibe came in for critical minutes down the stretch up by 11. His offensive game got going tonight, in the right place at the right time, as Mullins hit him under the rim for a smooth jam. The ensuing possession, Karaban hit the cutting big man for a layup, giving him his 8th point on the night. Demary put the finishing touches on the game with a triple to go up 19.
Round 3 of St. John’s vs UConn tips off Saturday at 6:30 after the two teams each won one regular-season meeting at home. The Johnnies can repeat as Big East champions and claim the conference sweep for a second straight year. The Huskies are playing for their 9th Big East title.