The No. 4 UConn men’s basketball team (1-0) began the regular season with a 79-55 win over new Division I opponent New Haven on Monday night.
Tarris Reed Jr. was ruled out for the third straight game with the hamstring injury suffered in October. He was a game-time decision, but UConn head coach Dan Hurley opted to keep him out, playing it safe.
“We can’t bring him back prematurely and have the hamstring linger,” Hurley said, with no word on Reed’s status for Friday. “Because we can’t do this without him. He’s a focal point. He’s going to improve our defense; he’s going to improve our offense; he’s going to improve our rebounding. I mean, he’s going to improve our energy, because he plays with a lot of energy.”
For the third consecutive game, Eric Reibe took his place down low. Reibe’s 7-foot-1 height was a massive difference-maker for the Huskies, especially considering the tallest player in New Haven’s frontcourt stands 6-foot-9-inches tall.
The freshman from Hanover, Germany, finished the game with 6 points, one rebound and one block on 3-3 shooting. While his imposing size plays a factor in the middle on both ends of the court, especially against 6-foot-9 forward Andre Pasha, his performance was considered a shell of what he can do, especially with more impressive games against Boston College and Michigan State.
“I just think it was a very uncomfortable game,” Hurley said. “That wasn’t like a center matchup. Eric played better against the Michigan State frontcourt, Eric played better against Boston College’s frontcourt…So he’ll play better against high majors than he will against probably these low majors.”
On paper, UConn looked to be an overwhelming opponent for New Haven. However, that was not the case for the first half, with the Huskies leading 37-24, only a 13-point lead for a team favored by 42.5 points. While it is only November, it was clear that finishing at the rim needed to be worked on.
“These guys smoked some finishes at the rim that we’re going to be much better at,” Hurley said, citing the first game jitters as a factor for the missed shots from point-blank range.
You can argue that the defense was another aspect that needed to be polished. Both teams shot similarly from the floor, but the free-throw differential and New Haven’s poor 3-point shooting gave the Huskies the cushion they needed to come out on top.
“We needed to guard better,” Hurley said. “I think some of it was being spooked about fouling. I think some of it is letting right-handed players drive the ball righty-middle.”
Jaylin Stewart had one of his best games of his collegiate career with 11 points, eight rebounds and one block on 5-8 shooting. That block was an acrobatic one on New Haven’s Najimi George, which led to a Solo Ball 3- pointer on the other end for the best sequence of the game.
“He was looking to be aggressive, and that’s something that we really need out of him,” Alex Karaban, who finished with a 19-point, 10-rebound double- double, said. “He’s going to take a huge step for us offensively and defensively. The way he was on the backboard as well, too, helped us out…He’s a very talented player, and we just need consistent play continuing from Stewie as well, but he showed great strides.”
Ball may have had 18 points, many thanks to a perfect 7-7 night from the free throw line, but his defense looked its best as he continues to try and fix what has bothered him about his game since he arrived in Storrs. The Leesburg, Va. native had two blocks and a steal as he looked to spark the Huskies in transition.
As a team, UConn had 11 assists on 27 field goals made, which is low for a team that averaged 17.6 assists per game.
“[Finishing with] 11 assists is really disappointing,” Hurley said. “We’re a 20-assist team, so to get 11 means we didn’t pass the ball very well or finished plays…It was just a bad passing game. I thought some of Solo’s passes when we had advantages that normally for us are hitting the roller
and laying the ball in… As bad as we passed it, it probably should have been 17 or an 18-assist game.
The Huskies ended the game on a 9-0 run in the final 2:15 to give the team its first official win of the 2025-26 season.
The Huskies will continue a three-game stretch of buy games on Friday with UMass Lowell coming to Hartford at the PeoplesBank Arena, with a tip time set for 7:30 p.m.