No. 2 UConn was without five-star freshman Braylon Mullins for the seventh time this year when the team completed its regular season sweep over Providence, 87-81.
The Huskies were forced to find offense elsewhere with their two-time Big East freshman of the week on the sidelines. UConn supplemented the absence of its usual starter with an impressive night from its bench.
The Huskies were praised for their depth at the beginning of the season, but their once-coveted reserves have been disappointing in recent weeks. The second unit was averaging just 7.6 per game to have its previous five games entering Tuesday night, which ranked 357th in the country.
UConn’s backups breached their average in the first half, scoring 12 before the intermission. They finished the night with 26 points off the bench.
Mullins’ fellow five-star freshman Eric Reibe was dominant on the interior. He scored 14 points while not missing an attempt from the field. He was able to snatch eight rebounds while swatting away two shots.
“We got to play Eric more, because we had a huge impact on the game,” Head Coach Dan Hurley said.
Malachi Smith hit multiple three pointers for the first time since introducing Illinois to Mali’s World at Madison Square Garden back in November. He hit a career-high four three-pointers which accounted for all 12 of his points. He contributed seven assists and finished the game +14 which led the game.
“I thought the story to game for us was Malachi being back,” Hurley said. “He played with a lot of energy. He picked his spots.”
Providence had no answers for Tarris Reed Jr. inside. He made all but one of his nine shots from the field, leaving the Friars with no choice but to foul him when he went to the rim. He drew seven fouls in total.
Reed had a poor free-throw shooting night despite getting to the stripe consistently. He missed six free throws for the second time in conference play. He still managed to lead the game in scoring with 19 points, while only netting 33% of his free throws.
UConn put together a 10-0 run to go up 29-19 with 09:39 to play in the first half. But Jamier Jones led the Friars right back to a one-point game, scoring seven during a nine-point run. This was the first of many instances throughout the night where the Huskies hovered around a double-digit lead, before letting Providence battle back in.
“Obviously at UConn basketball, the other standards are high,” Hurley said. “Everyone wants to see this ‘26 team play like the ‘24 team. We’re just not there yet.”
The Friars outpaced UConn on the fast break in the first half, which allowed them to stay in the game. The Huskies failed to convert in transition until two minutes had passed in the second half on a Reibe finish at the cup. Providence’s fast break offense claimed an 11-0 margin at the half.
UConn was able to close that gap in the second half following Reibe’s bucket, finishing with 10 fast break points and closing the final margin to –2.
While The Huskies struggled to score in transition, they made up for it from three. UConn sunk a program record 18 three times the last time they faced the Friars on Jan. 7. The Huskies were able to put together another impressive three point shooting night, even though records were not set this time around.
The team shot 45.8% from three with Karaban, Silas Demary Jr. and Solo Ball all joining Smith by hitting multiple triples. The four hit 11 total. Demary knocked down back-to-back from the corner to give the Huskies a seven-point advantage in the second half. Five UConn scorers finished in double figures.
Reed poked the ball away from Jaylin Sellers in the closing moments of the game before slamming home a dunk, and the metaphorical door on Providence. The win was UConn’s 20th of the season, remaining unbeaten in Big East play.
As soon as I saw the ball leave his hands, it was go time,” Reed said. “I was gonna need a breakaway dunk right there to change the flow of the game.”
The Huskies will be back in action on Saturday when they get back on the road to take on Creighton. It will be the first meeting between the two since the 2025 Big East Tournament Semifinal.
That game will tip off at 8 p.m. and can be watched on Fox.