By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)
STORRS, Conn. — When Dan Hurley and Tommy Lloyd scheduled the home-and-home series that UConn and Arizona announced over the summer, both viewed it as a great opportunity to test their teams early in the season, in addition to being a beneficial win on the resume of whichever team ended up victorious.
What they didn’t expect (probably not, at least), was perhaps the premier game in the sport up to this point in the season as No. 3 UConn hosted No. 4 Arizona Wednesday night in front of a sold-out Gampel Pavilion crowd, falling to the Wildcats, 71-67.
“Brutal loss, just because we fought so hard to come back from down double digits,” Hurley said. “Really tough because we could’ve stolen it. There’s not many nights where you can steal one against a Top 5 team when you get outrebounded by 20.”
As fans arrived in Storrs, they were hit with some rather shocking injury news. Starting center Tarris Reed, Jr. was ruled out with an ankle injury seemingly out of nowhere, leaving the Huskies with a void in their frontcourt that already had a tall task of containing the Arizona forwards.
“I think we thought he would be available, and the medical team got a look at him. He’s going to be game-to-game at this point,” Hurley said. “We are the basketball capital of the world, but we’re also the ankle sprain capital of the world.”
The result of Reed’s absence was the emergence of his backup, Eric Reibe. The freshman seven-footer scored a career-high 15 points, including the first two three-pointers of his career.
“I don’t think I could be prouder of Big Eric,” Hurley said. “Tonight is going to do a lot for his confidence when Tarris gets back and that tandem at center is going to look like how it did in those championship years.”
“I just had to step up and try and impact the game how (Reed) does,” Reibe said.
Another result of Reed’s absence was the rebound discrepancy Hurley mentioned. The Wildcats were getting anything they wanted on the glass and won the rebound battle, 43-23. Not having Reed inside to close out allowed for many extra opportunities that a team with that much talent wouldn’t squander.
Overall, the first half was a back-and-forth affair that saw Arizona leading by two going into the intermission. The defensive game plan for the Wildcats was clear, as they gave Reibe the three and made all of UConn’s passes tough catches. Motiejus Krivas sat around the rim for a majority of the game, posing a threat around the rim with his 7-foot-2 frame and forcing the Huskies to look elsewhere for their points.
Once the second half started, it was almost like a nightmare scenario for the Huskies. Arizona opened on an 18-7 run over the first six minutes and grew its lead to 13 points, at 53-40. After that, the Wildcats had a near four-minute scoreless spell in which UConn clawed back, thanks to a Jayden Ross three sandwiched between a pair of baskets by Silas Demary, Jr.
“The focus was just to stay within the game,” Solo Ball said. “We have a big crowd behind us and we’re not gonna just give in in front of Husky Nation, for sure.”
With less than five minutes to play, Alex Karaban connected on his first three of the game on what was a relatively quiet night for the senior. His lone triple made it a one point game at 57-56, and forced Lloyd to call timeout. After Krivas flushed a dunk out of the stoppage, he leaked off Reibe once again and the rookie responded with his second three of the game to tie things at 60 and send Gampel Pavilion into oblivion.
“He played like a dog, he really kept us in the game,” Ball said. “He gave us a run with that three late. He didn’t look like a freshman. I’m so proud of this dude.”
On the next possession, Jaylin Stewart cleaned up a botched handoff and laid it in to give UConn its first lead since it was 22-21 midway through the first half. Koa Peat tied things at 62 with a paint jumper. The back-and-forth jolts continued, as Malachi Smith drilled his lone field goal of the night with a tough jumper over the lengthy Krivas to make it 64-62 with 2:16 to play in regulation.
That would essentially be it for the Huskies, however, as Arizona would go on a 7-0 run fueled by Peat and Jaden Bradley, who finished with a game-high 21 points.
“He’s a really talented player who’s going to have an NBA career,” Hurley said of Bradley.
Bradley’s finish inside would give Arizona a 67-64 lead with 13.3 seconds remaining as Hurley called his last timeout. The plan out of the break was to try and get a quick two and go from there. The result? A bunch of dribbling from Demary that ended in a shovel pass to Reibe, who threw it up while drawing contact, and after what felt like an eternity, the ball fell off the rim and ended up as a miss.
“I’m just going to use it as a learning experience,” Reibe said. “Obviously I wanted that and-1 to fall, but I’ll learn from it.”
Reibe ended up missing both free throws, and the Wildcats ended up escaping despite a Demary three that cut it back to two with 1.7 seconds remaining. Despite a heroic effort to claw back in, the Huskies fell short in front of their home fans and were handed their first loss of the season. Even in defeat, Hurley and the players realize the potential that this team has this season, playing so competitively with perhaps the best team in the country while down multiple starters.
“Tarris is one of the best rebounders in the country,” Hurley said. “Things would look a lot different down there with him in.”
“We’re gonna have bigger pieces coming back too,” Ball added. “We’re going to be healthy and strong.”
The Huskies are back in action on Sunday for a clash with Bryant before the gauntlet non-conference schedule picks back up a week from Friday, when they face Illinois at Madison Square Garden.
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