UConn gets rematch with Michigan State in Sweet 16, but Huskies and Spartans are two different teams since October exhibition

WASHINGTON — It is not uncommon for teams to see previous opponents again in the NCAA Tournament, even though the familiarity is usually confined to the name on the schedule since both teams are mostly retooled since their last meeting with one another.

This weekend, UConn could potentially have two such rematches as it seeks its eighth Final Four appearance in program history, which would require two wins — one on Friday, the other on Sunday — to get there. The first hurdle standing in the way of the Huskies is a team that Dan Hurley faced in the second of two exhibitions this season.

Technically, UConn’s 76-69 win over Michigan State on October 28 does not count among the record books, but there is still a lot to be gained from that Tuesday evening in Hartford. Alex Karaban and Solo Ball led the Huskies with 18 points each, and in an apparent foreboding of his resurgent month of March, Jayden Ross added 13 points off the bench. But like most of his teammates, Ross knew to place more stock in the Spartans, who won the East regional the last time it was held in the nation’s capital, in 2019, and are their usual formidable adversary once again.

“They’re a really good team, as we’ve seen throughout the year,” Ross said after UConn dispatched UCLA last Sunday to set up the showdown with a Hall of Fame coach in Tom Izzo. “They’ve got a really great front and backcourt, pretty good depth, they’ve got freshmen playing like they’re sophomores (and) juniors, so it’s gonna be a great task for us.”

“We played them earlier in the year, but they’ve grown since then,” Silas Demary, Jr. added. “They play well in transition, they get a lot of stops. They’ve got a great point guard in Jeremy Fears, and I think him and Coen Carr have a great connection when they get out on the break, throwing a lot of lobs. They play two bigs with Jaxon Kohler and (Carson) Cooper, big team, they defend well. I think they do a lot of good things. They’ve found their footing, so we just gotta get ready to get to the film and figure out what we can do to stop them.”

While Michigan State has grown in the past five months, so too has UConn. In fact, the Huskies may have the two biggest variables since the October exhibition battle, as they defeated the Spartans then without the services of Braylon Mullins and Tarris Reed, Jr., both of whom were nursing injuries at the time. Each is back, and between Mullins’ apparent restoration of confidence in his outside shot, plus Reed’s 41 points and 40 rebounds in UConn’s first two tournament games last weekend, the two make the No. 2 seed an even tougher out than usual.

“I think it just poses us as a threat,” Demary said of having Mullins and Reed available. “I think when we bring back two of our better guys, and like how Tarris is playing now, he’s playing with the utmost confidence, and Braylon getting his confidence back shooting the ball, I think that just poses two more guys that they have to worry about.”

Even though he missed the exhibition, Reed has notable experience playing against Michigan State from his time at Michigan before transferring. Adding to the subplot is Izzo’s recruitment of the 6-foot-11 center in the transfer portal before Reed ultimately chose UConn, but the big bear focused on big business first and foremost.

“I’m gonna do what the game calls me to do,” Reed said of his matchup, where he will most likely draw Jaxon Kohler or Carson Cooper for a majority of the contest. “Cooper and Kohler, and then (Coen) Carr, they all crash the glass. They’re aggressive. They play physical, they play tough, so I feel like it’s gonna be a dog fight, gonna be a war, and I feel like we gotta set the tone and match their energy. They’re gonna come out hot, they’re gonna have to match our energy, we’re gonna have to match theirs.”

The need to stay focused and move forward was already instilled by the Huskies’ locker room leader, one that has shared this dance times before and credits his teammates’ resolve for bringing UConn back to this moment.

“I think this team’s in a good spot where we have great energy right now,” Alex Karaban said. “We’re super excited heading to the Sweet 16 against a really good Michigan State team, and the vibes are high. I just want the guys to enjoy this and really be proud of all the work that we’ve put in so far, not be complacent yet, and just keep moving forward.”

“Having the injuries that we had earlier in the season made sure everyone had to step up. I think it was a lot of learning opportunities too, knowing that we were missing some guys and other guys had to step up and really just instill confidence in themselves. Having (Mullins and Reed) back is incredible, and how much we’ve grown now that we’re fully healthy, we’ve been really just growing as a team and getting better from where we were in October.”