STORRS – The No. 3 UConn men’s basketball team will now be without two starters as it welcomes No. 4 Arizona for only the second-ever top-five matchup in Gampel Pavilion Wednesday night.
In addition to five-star freshman Braylon Mullins, who has yet to make his regular-season debut as he recovers from an ankle injury, the Huskies announced they will also be without star center, Tarris Reed Jr., who is also dealing with an ankle injury.
Reed, who missed both exhibitions and the season opener due to a hamstring injury, has been a game-changer for the team since he made his season debut in a 110-47 win over UMass Lowell. He had 21 points and eight rebounds as he helped the team to a win over then-No. 7 BYU at TD Garden on Saturday night and is averaging 20 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in 25.3 minutes per game.
Both Reed and Mullins are considered game-to-game.
The absence, which was officially announced 90 minutes before tip-off, leaves major responsibility on the shoulders of 7-foot-1 freshman center Eric Reibe, who only saw five minutes of action in the team’s last outing against the Cougars, and 6-foot-8 Le Moyne transfer Dwayne Koroma, who showed potential as a third center for the Huskies in their exhibitions and buy games.
“I got a little tight with his minutes the other day, but I think that had a lot to do with (BYU center Keba Keita) going out of the game and them being small, and just getting a little tight with the rotation in that first (high-major) game,” coach Dan Hurley said, without revealing Reed’s status, on Tuesday night. “You have the big lead, the lead is dwindling, you kind of lose that window, you don’t want to put a freshman center into what was a sinking ship in that game. We kind of lost the window.”
Hurley won’t have a choice on Wednesday.
The freshman will have to cut his teeth against one of the best frontcourts in the country with 7-2 Motiejus Krivas and 6-8 Tobe Awaka down low for the Wildcats, not to mention 6-8 wing Koa Peat, who has been one of the best rookies in the nation and will likely be a one-and-done, top NBA Draft pick in June.
Hurley said Mullins has been “making great progress” and started to get involved in a limited capacity in practice as he gets closer to returning.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7:01 p.m. Wednesday night.
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