No. 6 UConn bounces back to beat Xavier 93-68 in the Big East quarterfinals
Tarris Reed Jr. had 17 points and 14 rebounds as No. 6 UConn cruised past Xavier 93-68 in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament, bouncing back from a costly loss last weekend in the regular-season finale
NEW YORK (AP) — Tarris Reed Jr. had 17 points and 14 rebounds as No. 6 UConn cruised past Xavier 93-68 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament, bouncing back from a costly loss last weekend in the regular-season finale.
The Huskies (28-4) led by 22 in the first half against Xavier (15-18), which got as close as 13 early in the second before coach Dan Hurley's team pulled away again and left no doubt. Solo Ball's 3-pointer with just over 5 1/2 minutes remaining pushed the margin to 25.
Hurley was animated at times on the sideline but stayed in the game until it was over, unlike when he got ejected in the final second of a 68-62 defeat at Marquette on Saturday. That cost UConn a share of the Big East regular-season title and perhaps a chance at earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
UConn's size and talent was too much for the 10th-seeded Musketeers, who beat No. 7 seed Marquette 89-87 in the first round Wednesday night. Reed was one of three Huskies players in double figures, with Ball scoring 19 points and Alex Karaban 15.
Recommended for you
UConn outrebounded the Musketeers 40-28 and outscored them 42-16 in the paint while shooting 57% from the field. Richard Pitino's group was just 19 of 51 for 37% shooting, with Filip Borovicanin leading all scorers with 22 points.
Up next
UConn swept the season series against either potential semifinal opponent, beating Villanova 75-67 in overtime and 73-63, and Georgetown 64-62 and 79-75.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.