When the UConn men’s basketball team took down Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen last March, Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. led the Huskies with 37 and 33 minutes, respectively.
Reed Jr. posted a team-high 20 points in the 67-63 win, while Karaban finished second in scoring and led the Huskies with seven assists.
Less than three months later, both players heard their names called in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft.
While the duo’s departure will certainly be felt when the No. 4 Huskies travel to East Lansing to take on the No. 6 Spartans on Tuesday in an exhibition contest, their replacements held up just fine during last Tuesday’s season-opening exhibition against Syracuse.
Duke transfer forward Nik Khamenia, who drew comparisons to Karaban from UConn Head Coach Dan Hurley last week, tied for the team lead in rebounds, assists and steals. Adding 12 points, the sophomore contributed multiple clutch three-pointers in the Huskies’ 72-52 victory.
Khamenia, who like Karaban is listed at 6-foot-8, said that he picked the UConn legend’s brain for tips on how to succeed for the Huskies over the summer.
“I know he went to three national championships, played here four years, so those are extremely big shoes to fill,” Khamenia said after the Syracuse exhibition.
Fellow transfer Na’jai Hines had to wait his turn to come off the bench, as Oskar Giltay got the start at center. Once Hines made it into the contest, he looked like the impact player that had been nearly universally penciled into projected starting lineups.
Notching a team-high 17 points, Hines blocked two shots and pulled in eight rebounds, also showcasing his dominance at the rim on the offensive end with multiple loud dunks.
Tuesday’s contest will be another opportunity for the 6-foot-11 sophomore to prove he can showcase that talent consistently enough to earn a spot in the starting five.
“He was the most impressive player on the court,” Hurley said after the Syracuse exhibition. “I just think for us, the time he spent at Seton Hall with [Pirates Head Coach] Shaheen [Holloway] was very helpful. We’ve got to get him where he’s doing it like you just saw it, and like he did three practices ago, every single day he steps on the court. Same focus, same intentions. We want him to really earn it.”
Freshmen Junior County and Colben Landrew also flashed in their first collegiate action, with County connecting on a trio of three-pointers and Landrew playing the second most minutes on the team and going 3-for-6 from the field. Both will again see big minutes should Braylon Mullins miss another contest with the undisclosed injury that kept him out of the Syracuse exhibition.
While Preseason Big East Player of the Year Silas Demary Jr. suffered from a slow start and overall poor shooting night against Syracuse, the second-year Husky still finished with 13 points after going 6-for-8 from the foul line. The point guard’s defensive contributions against Michigan State could end up being more important than any offensive offerings, as he will likely be tasked with defending Jeremy Fears Jr.
Fears Jr. was named National Preseason Player of the Year by multiple outlets, including CBS, but was limited to 13 points on 5-of-15 shooting in last year’s Sweet Sixteen. That was partially thanks to Demary Jr., who scored just two points in 23 minutes while being severely limited by a high ankle sprain.
Now healthy, Demary Jr. will likely get first cracks at guarding Fears Jr. when both are in the game.
The Spartans also have returning team captain and forward Coen Carr, who started all 35 games in 2026 and averaged 12 points per game.
Beyond Carr, the Spartans will be looking to reconstruct their frontcourt rotation after the departures of Jaxon Kohler (BYU) and Carson Cooper (NBA). Charlotte transfer center Anton Bonke, who UConn knows well from his time at Providence, started in Michigan State’s first preseason game against Incarnate Word, an 89-59 victory at the beginning of the month. The same is true of Jesse McCulloch, who led the Spartans in that contest with 20 points.
Talented freshmen Ethan Taylor and Julius Avent, both four-star recruits, should also factor in, as should 2025 role player Cameron Ward.
Tipoff at the Breslin Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. The contest will stream live on B1G+.