![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC_2907.jpg\")
UConn MBB v. UCLA Mens Basketball. Photo. by Madison Hendricks\/The Daily Campus<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not going down without firing all these bullets,\u201d Dan Hurley said in his postgame press conference. \u201cWhen the two-time national champion has that look in his eye and is making [those] type of shots and plays, that\u2019s when the group was able to put the game away.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Silas Demary Jr. returned to the floor\u00a0after missing the NCAA Tournament opener against 15-seeded Furman<\/a>\u00a0with an ankle sprain suffered in the\u00a0Big East Championship loss to St. John\u2019s.<\/a>\u00a0While not 100%, he provided depth in the backcourt and played a role like what Tarris Reed Jr. did in the\u00a0Black Friday win over Illinois<\/a>. Malachi Smith started over Demary, with the latter coming into the game at the 14:15 mark of the first half.\u00a0<\/p>\n Demary\u2019s only points came from the free-throw line, but his impact came elsewhere. He had a team-high +22 plus-minus rating.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSilas gutted it out,\u201d Hurley said, revealing that Demary was on a 20-minute restriction but went slightly over that.\u00a0<\/p>\n Demary\u00a0told CT Insider\u2019s David Borges<\/a>\u00a0that he knew that he would play on Sunday following the Huskies\u2019 win over Furman on Friday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI was going to put my body on the line for this team and this program to get to the Sweet Sixteen,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Smith filled in the starting role and provided some massive minutes for the Huskies. He played 32 minutes in both games of the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, with 13 assists to three turnovers over that span.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need Malachi if we want to reach our goals, and he\u2019s done a great job stepping up so far,\u201d Karaban said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jayden Ross was the ultimate x-factor in this game, scoring 9 points in the first half (11 for the game) and playing solid defense on UCLA star point guard Donovan Dent, who finished with 11 points but did not make a basket in the second half. Ross struggled to stay on the court in the second half due to foul trouble, including a challenge from Dan Hurley that ended up in an even worse outcome.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cJayden has been on a great trajectory,\u201d Hurley said. \u201cWe were struggling defensively. He came in and changed that. The three was huge and the free throws, but this team needs his athleticism on the court, his size, and you just see a player\u00a0that\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0really developing, coming into his own right now, especially with Jaylin Stewart out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Speaking of Stewart, he did suit up today for the Huskies for the first time since seeing action\u00a0on Feb. 21 in a 73-63 win at Villanova<\/a>. However, he did not\u00a0get<\/a>\u00a0any action on Sunday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cJaylin had no chance [to\u00a0play],<\/a>\u201d Hurley told local reporters after the press conference. \u201cJaylin was in an emergency role. He has taken no live reps. We wanted him to go through the pregame warm-up as part of his process of being ready for next week.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n UConn started the game poorly on both ends of the floor as the first 12 minutes saw Connecticut shoot 4-for-16 from the floor with seven turnovers. The Huskies made 8 of their last 10 shots with just one turnover in the last eight minutes of the first half to go up 38-33 at the midway point.\u00a0<\/p>\n Braylon Mullins found his 3-point shot in the final minutes of the first half after starting the NCAA Tournament 0-for-10. The\u00a0freshman<\/a>\u00a0phenom ended up hitting back-to-back 3-pointers in the final three minutes of the half and finished the game with 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think you just got to come into every game with confidence,\u201d he said. \u201cMy first three shots\u00a0kind of rattled<\/a>\u00a0me a little bit. I think just getting all my composure on the bench, and all my teammates just believe in me\u2026One of them\u00a0has to<\/a>\u00a0go in, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Tarris Reed Jr., coming off a historic first-round game, followed the performance with a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC_2643.jpg\")
UConn MBB v. UCLA Mens Basketball. Photo. by Madison Hendricks\/The Daily Campus<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC_2740.jpg\")
UConn MBB v. UCLA Mens Basketball. Photo. by Madison Hendricks\/The Daily Campus<\/p>\n