NEW YORK – The UConn men’s basketball team has only been fully healthy for two games so far this season, and both have been at Madison Square Garden.
Tarris Reed Jr., the Huskies’ senior center who has missed the last two games with an ankle injury, will be available in the World’s Most Famous Arena for Tuesday night’s matchup of the last two national champions in the Jimmy V Classic against Florida.
Reed, who missed the season-opener with a hamstring injury, injured his ankle late in the Nov. 15 win over BYU. He missed the next two games, the home loss to Arizona and win over Bryant, before attempting to return while he was restricted to 15 minutes in the Huskies’ win over Illinois at MSG on Nov. 28. Designated a game-time decision before the following two games at Kansas and against East Texas A&M, Reed was limited in practice and sat out in street clothes.
He was able to have two full days of practice leading into Tuesday’s matchup, coach Dan Hurley said on a call with reporters Monday. It will be his fifth appearance this season.
The Huskies will need him, going against one of the best frontcourts in the country. No. 18 Florida returns three bigs – Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu – from its national championship team and starts all three. The Gators are No. 2 nationally in rebounding margin entering the game, which will tip-off at 9 p.m. on ESPN.