Posted: Mar 21, 2026 / 06:23 PM EDT
Updated: Mar 23, 2026 / 04:16 AM EDT
PHILADELPHIA (WTNH) — The UConn men’s basketball team is on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
No. 2 UConn came up with some clutch shooting to beat No. 15 Furman, 82-71, late Friday night. The game ended after midnight and the Huskies did not get back to the team hotel in Philadelphia until after 2 a.m.
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This UConn senior class has had quite the four years with the Huskies, winning back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024. But UConn got bounced in the second round last season.
With the Big East Championship loss to St. John’s and the wakeup call against Furman to open the NCAA Tournament, UConn is focused on turning one tournament win into two.
“We’ve had a very up and down season so far, just with emotional wins but emotional losses,” UConn senior forward Alex Karaban said. “So we’ve already had feelings where we had a championship ripped out of our hands and two championships ripped out of our hands in a week. So I think that pain’s got to stick with you and realize that, you know, we’re ultimately competing for a championship and we’re taking it one game at a time, but doing everything in our power to not lose and make sure that we don’t feel like that again.”
UConn faces No. 7 UCLA in the second round Sunday night in Philadelphia with another late tip off scheduled for 8:45 p.m. The winner advances to the Sweet 16.
Watch UConn’s Tarris Reed, Jr. discuss his performance against Furman during the postgame press conference in the video player below.