UConn men’s basketball survived their opening round matchup against 15-seed Furman Friday night, using a historic performance from Tarris Reed Jr. to win 82-71. Despite missing Jaylin Stewart and starter Silas Demary Jr. and one of the team’s worst shooting nights of the season, the Huskies were able to advance to the Second Round for the fourth-straight season.
As a result, UConn will take on 7-seed UCLA, who defeated 10-seed UCF 75-71. The Bruins rank No. 27 in KenPom and nearly squandered a 14-point
lead over the Knights with seven minutes to play, but held on for the win thanks to 20 points from Eric Dailey. UCLA has generally underperformed this year compared to preseason expectations, where the Bruins were ranked No. 10 in KenPom, but picked up impressive wins over Michigan State, Illinois and Purdue in the final two months of the season.
UConn and UCLA will face off in Philadelphia on Sunday night at 8:45 p.m. ET, with TNT set to broadcast the game. Per FanDuel, the Huskies opened as 4.5-point favorites over Mick Cronin’s Bruins, with moneyline odds set at -194. The game’s over/under is set at 137.5.
While it’s not a surprise that the 2-seed Huskies have the edge over UCLA, it’s unclear if the line factors in whether Demary Jr., and Stewart are able to play or not. Demary Jr.‘s absence in particular was felt sorely on Friday night. While a banged up Malachi Smith filled in admirably with seven assists and one turnover in his first start of the season, UConn struggled when they had to rely on normally-third-string guard Alec Millender to relieve Smith. Demary Jr.’s defensive intensity, rebounding skills and offensive ability will be sorely needed for what figures to be a very physical matchup against the Bruins.
The Huskies’ opening round win didn’t alter their odds of playing deep into March Madness. Per FanDuel, their odds to win the national championship remain at +4000, while the odds of making the Final Four are set at +600. Given the pending information on the status of two key players in both Demary Jr. and Stewart, the team’s sixth man, it’s possible these odds shift somewhat substantially prior to tip off on Sunday as the injury report is released.
