NEW YORK — From the moment UConn walked off the court after losing to Florida as a No. 8 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament, all of the talk surrounding the program was centered around its defense.
In that game, the loss that ended UConn’s streak of 13-straight March Madness victories, the Huskies went out with one of their best defensive performances of the season, but it was clear that wholesale changes needed to be made to avoid drawing a No. 1 seed in the second round again.
On Tuesday night, when the teams met again at Madison Square Garden, both good enough still to make deep March runs, it was UConn’s defense that decided the game. Florida remains one of the biggest, longest and most athletic teams in the country, but the Huskies, finally all available but dealing with foul trouble for most of the night, forced 12 turnovers and allowed only six second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds.
And the new pieces showed up when they were needed most.
Dom Amore: UConn men rock The Garden again, rolling through dangerous nonconference schedule
Up three with 9.4 seconds on the clock when Florida’s Boogie Fland was inbounding the ball in front of his own bench, UConn’s Malachi Smith chased shooter Urban Klavzar around two screeners into the corner, Huskies guard Silas Demary Jr. followed the same path at the hip of Florida point guard Xavian Lee, sprinting to the ball. The plan was to foul before the Gators could get a shot off, but UConn’s new point guards didn’t allow the ball to get in.
The five-second violation, the most critical turnover of the night and a controversial one that coach Todd Golden said came a split second too early, gave the Huskies possession for Solo Ball to seal the game at the stripe.
“The defense is where we need it to be to compete for the things at UConn that you want to,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “The strength of the team, it’s the nine guys. When you have nine quality players, you could survive an off-night from multiple people and still get enough scoring production to win the game.
“I think when it’s all said and done, we’re gonna have a top-five, top-10 defense, top-five, top-10 offense. I think right now my biggest concern is probably rebounding.”
Through 10 games, which includes a 4-1 record against Quad One opponents, UConn’s defense is No. 7 nationally by KenPom‘s efficiency metric; its offense is No. 14. The rebounding has suffered most without center Tarris Reed Jr., who returned Tuesday night and played 24 minutes, but his absence has allowed freshman Eric Reibe’s development to accelerate as he’s come through in big spots against some of the best frontcourts in the nation.
“Having him back just adds so much confidence into all of us, just having his presence and his physicality is just really good for us,” said Reibe, who had nine points and two rebounds in just 15 minutes. “Just adds another big piece to what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Malachi Smith: Big game hunter
In five games against top-25 teams this season, Dayton transfer Malachi Smith has totaled 31 assists and just six turnovers. Returning home to New York City Tuesday night, the Bronx native matched his nine assists when the Huskies beat Illinois in their first trip to the World’s Most Famous Arena, and finished a game-best plus-16 off the bench.
“He’s unbelievable,” said freshman Braylon Mullins, who scored six crucial points in just 11 foul-plagued minutes. “He sets the pace for our offense. He gets in the paint, sprays to shooters; I mean, he does everything for us. He’s a junkyard dog on the ball, there’s so many things that he’s good at and he showed it tonight.”
Haugh one of Hurley’s ‘favorite players’
Tasked with guarding every position, Florida’s Thomas Haugh looked like one of the best players in the country with his tremendous length and burst as a 6-foot-9 big man who moved to the wing this season and gave Florida one of the tallest lineups in the country.
He finished with 18 points on 7 of 12 shooting.
“Haugh is one of my favorite players in recent memory,” Hurley said. “That guy is an incredible player. How he’s developed and how Todd has developed that guy, that guy is like first team All-American. That guy should be a lottery pick. That guy’s tremendous.”
Special guests
There was a back-to-back national champion supporting both teams on Tuesday night. Behind Florida’s bench sat Joakim Noah, who was part of the Gators’ 2006 and ’07 national championship teams. UConn had Hassan Diarra, the former Big East Sixth Man of the Year and champion in 2023 and ’24, on its side.
There were multiple former Huskies in the building, including Emeka Okafor, Jeremy Lamb and Tyrese Martin. UConn football coach Jason Candle, who was officially introduced at a press conference on Monday, was also seated behind the Huskies’ bench with Athletic Director David Benedict and heard a strong ovation when he was shown on the jumbotron.