University of Connecticut Athletics
University of Connecticut
Furman
#2 Huskies Open Big Dance vs. #15 Furman In Philly
3/19/2026 2:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA – The UConn men's basketball team (29-5) opens its 39th NCAA Tournament on Friday night with a late-night First Round match-up in East Regional. The two-seed Huskies will take on 15-seed Furman (22-12) with tip off set for time after 10 p.m. The contest will air on TBS with Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas and Evan Washburn on the call.
The Huskies earned an at-large bid to the Big Dance for the fifth time in six years along with an auto-bid in 2024. The six-season streak of making it to the March Madness field is a new program record, surpassing the previous benchmark of five-straight achieved from 1956-60 and 2002-06. Furman received the auto-bid out of the SoCon, winning the league tournament for the eighth time after playing as its sixth seed.
UConn and Furman have squared off twice in the past, with UConn taking home games in 1991-92 and 2015-16. Connecticut has faced the SoCon champion in the NCAA Tournament on two prior occasions, winning First Round games over Chattanooga in both 1995 and 2009.
Since seeding began and the tournament format altered in 1979, UConn is 21-5 in NCAA First Round action. It has won its First Round game in each of the last three seasons, with wins over No. 13 Iona, No. 16 Stetson in No. 9 Oklahoma from 2023-25, respectively. The Huskies have totaled 19 Sweet 16 appearances, 13 Elite Eights, seven final fours and six national championships in their illustrious March Madness history.
The Huskies went 29-5 in a regular season that included an 18-game winning streak from Nov. 23 to Feb.3 and picked up marquee non-conference wins against four teams in the current top-25 of the NET. They followed that by going 17-3 in BIG EAST play, recording the fourth-most wins in a league regular season in conference history before advancing to the league title game. A total of five Huskies earned All-BIG EAST honors, including Silas Demary Jr., Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. becoming the first trio of teammates to all earn First Team laurels in the same season in conference history. Solo Ball was a Second Team pick and Braylon Mullins a unanimous selection the All-Freshman team.
All five regular UConn starters average double-figures on the season, one of 12 high-major programs one of 30 overall that can make that claim in 2025-26. Reed Jr. leads the Huskies with 13.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per game, ranking among the top-20 nationally with a 62.5 field goal percentage. Ball is second on the squad with 13.5 per game and hits 2.1 3-pointers per contest, recently named a Top Five Finalist for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award.
Karaban, the program record holder for wins, games played, games started, minutes and 3-pointers, stuffs the stat sheet with 12.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.6 'stocks' per game. He recently moved into ninth on the UConn all-time scoring list, tied with Kemba Walker with 1,783 points at Connecticut. Karaban enters his final NCAA Tournament with a 13-1 record in March Madness, best of any player in the modern era. Demary Jr. leads the BIG EAST with 6.2 assists per game to add to his 10.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per night. Mullins scores 12.0 per game along with 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 'stocks'.
The Huskies have been bolstered this season by one of the nation's elite defensive units. UConn ranks 11 in Kenpom defensive efficiency and is top-20 nationally in block rate, scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and 3-pointers allowed per game.
Furman enters the Big Dance with a 22-12 record on the year. It is making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance after a win over top-seed ETSU in the SoCon title game. Alex Wilkins leads the Paladins with 17.7 points and 4.7 assists per game, joined in double-figures by Cooper Bowser (14.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Asa Thomas (12.4 ppg).
Should the Huskies advance, they will face the winner of No. 7 UCLA and No. 10 UCF in Second Round action on Sunday.
