Through the first five games, UConn men’s basketball had been without its leading scorer and rebounder. Still, the Huskies are 5–1 in games Tarris Reed Jr. has missed, including last week’s historic first-ever win over Kansas. Yet Dan Hurley isn’t celebrating that. He’s locked in on the update on Reed as it could completely alter UConn’s fate.

The Huskies are preparing to face the defending national champion Florida in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden. And, they might just have him back when they need him the most. 

According to Hurley, Reed will be a game-time decision, but he has practiced with the team for the past two days. “We’ll see how he feels Tuesday in the shootaround and see what that looks like for Tarris,” Hurley said on a Monday Zoom call with CT Insider.

Well, that’s a big step forward compared to last week’s wins over Kansas and East Texas A&M, where he was only a limited participant. He had been dealing with an ankle injury, marking the fourth time he has been sidelined this season. He already missed the opener due to a hamstring issue.

When he returned, he exploded for more than 19 points in each of the next three games. However, his momentum was halted by an ankle injury he sustained on November 19 during a win over BYU. That led him to miss two more contests. He did return against Illinois, but he clearly wasn’t himself.

Reed finished with just two points on 0-for-3 shooting and played only 15 minutes as Hurley eased him back in. Soon after, the program announced, “Tarris remains game-to-game and is out tonight.”

Ten days since then, and now he might finally be on the verge of a real comeback. And his comeback could be a game-changer, as he’s already averaging 5.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2 blocks per game. Especially when Florida isn’t the same team that crushed UConn’s hopes of a three-peat last March on the way to a national title.

They no longer have the dynamic backcourt trio of Walter Clayton Jr., Will Richard, and Alijah Martin. Instead, the Gators brought in Kentucky transfer Boogie Fland and Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee. Both have struggled with the jump from the Ivy League to a high-major. But the Gators do have most of their size returning up front.

They’ve got Alex Condon with 15.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. Thomas Haugh, the team’s leading scorer, is putting up 18.6 points and grabbing 7.6 boards. Center Rueben Chinyelu adds 10.2 points and a team-best 11.2 rebounds. So, in stopping all of them, Reed’s physicality and interior presence could be essential. However, UConn is prepared for every possible scenario!

How do the Huskies look without Reed?

In the win over Kansas, UConn leaned heavily on Eric Reibe. He delivered 12 points and eight rebounds while staying mostly out of foul trouble. When he picked up his second foul late in the first half, Dwayne Koroma checked in and was noticeably outmatched.

Reibe eventually took a breather in the second half, and Alex Karaban slid to the five. Still, UConn managed, found answers, and won the game. This means they’ve got the pack. Their only loss without Reed came against Arizona, now ranked No. 1 in the nation. That too came as Huskies were without both Reed and Braylon Mullins. So yes, UConn has survived. But the future remains uncertain. Reibe is still a freshman, and relying on him every night is risky.

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“Eric has played great,” Hurley said. “That being said, we’ve had the success we’ve had here because of a two-big system.”

So once Reed returns, he would share the floor with Reibe more often than UConn bigs have in the past, as per Dan. Still, the focus is now on Huskies. Will they be able to grab a win against the Gators? The team’s averaging 47.6 rebounds per game-second in the nation and first among Power Four programs?