WASHINGTON — Tarris Reed Jr. scored 20 points, Alex Karaban added 17 and second-seeded UConn defeated third-seeded Michigan State 67-63 on Friday night to reach the NCAA Tournament East Region final.
Solo Ball added 12 points for UConn, which advanced despite giving back all of an early 19-point lead and getting outrebounded 39-30.
Seeking a third national title in four years, the Huskies (32-5) will have to get past Duke, the tournament’s top overall seed, to reach another Final Four. The Blue Devils outlasted fifth-seeded St John’s 80-75 earlier on Friday.
Carson Cooper scored 14 points for Michigan State (27-8), which was seeking its 12th Elite Eight appearance under coach Tom Izzo.
Coen Carr and Jeremy Fears Jr. had 13 points each while Jaxon Kohler scored 12 for the Spartans, who lost three of their last five to close the season.
Having relinquished their lead only minutes earlier, the Huskies went in front for good on a 10-3 run in the middle of the second half.
Reed started it with a jump hook in the paint, Karaban followed with a 3-pointer from the wing, Ball sank a pair of free throws and a basket, and Jayden Ross’ free throw made it 56-49 with 5:10 to play.
From there, UConn had an answer every time Michigan State got within one or two points. Karaban sank a trey to make it 61-57, Reed hit two foul shots to make it 63-60, and Karaban and Reed each hit both ends of 1-and-1s in the last minute.
Michigan State failed to make a field goal for a stretch of 8:47 early in the first half as UConn seized a 25-6 lead.
It was still a 15-point advantage before the Spartans countered with a 16-2 run that spanned across halftime. Michigan State closed within 35-34 when Carr sank a layup, but he could not complete a three-point play.
The Spartans finally edged in front for the first time since the opening exchanges when Kohler’s transition layup began a three-point play that made it 45-44 with 10:06 to play.
