The Huskies will meet Tom Izzo and his Michigan State team in Washington, D.C., on Friday.
Alex Karaban wasn't ready to see his UConn career come to an end Sunday night in Philadelphia.
Karaban scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Huskies -- the No. 2 seed in the loaded East Region of the NCAA Tournament -- to a 73-57 win over No. 7 seed UCLA (24-12).
UConn (31-5) advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and will meet No. 3 Michigan State on Friday at 9:45 p.m. in Washington, D.C.
UConn used the heroics of Tarris Reed Jr. -- 31 points and 27 rebounds -- to defeat No. 15 seed Furman in the first round on Thursday. And the Huskies would not be advancing without the efforts of Karaban, the captain, who is vying to win his third national title and UConn's seventh overall.
He said he recognizes his role as the team leader.
“I gotta do whatever it takes to lead this team,” the senior told TNT Sports after the game. “I've said it before. I have the most experience in college basketball, what I've done in the four years, so just help this team through the good and the bad and really just make sure everyone is relaxed out there and just trying to make everyone’s job much easier.”
Head coach Dan Hurley heaped praise on Karaban, a first-team All-Big East selection.
"One of the toughest teams you'll ever play against -- a Mick Cronin team. UCLA, couldn't have more respect for them but this game was about this guy right here," Hurley told TNT Sports. "His greatness, his excellence the last four years. There hasn't been a better player in college basketball. Surely hasn't been a bigger winner."
Karaban was 9-of-16 shooting, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range. He added five rebounds, and 16 of his points came in the second half.
He got help from Braylon Mullins, who scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, and 11 points from Jayden Ross off the bench. Although Reed wound up with a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds, he didn’t score his first basket until almost nine minutes were gone in the second half.
Silas Demary Jr. returned to the lineup after missing the tournament opener with a sprained ankle but was 0-of-2 shooting, with his two points coming off of free throws. The shooting woes of Solo Ball continued as he was 0-of-5 shooting, all from 3-point range. That followed a 3-of-12 night against Furman.
For UCLA, Xavier Booker led all scorers with 13 points. Eric Dailey Jr. had 12, and Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark each added 11. Dent also handed out nine assists.
The Bruins played without leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau, who missed the game because of a sprain to his right knee. He averages 17.6 points per game.
More Karaban
On Thursday, Karaban scored 22 points and had three assists.
Statistics guru Katie Sharp said Karaban is the first UConn player with at least 49 points and four assists through the first two games of an NCAA Tournament since Shabazz Napier in 2014.
And she added this fact on Reed: With his 41 points and 40 rebounds, he is the first player with at least 40 of each in the first two games of an NCAA Tournament since Tim Duncan of Wake Forest in 1997.
Karaban's 27 points give him 1,832 for his career. That moved him past Corny Thompson and into sixth place on the all-time UConn scoring list. Thompson accumulated 1,810 points. Just ahead of Karaban is Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame member Ray Allen (1,922).
Up next
The winner of the UConn-Michigan State game will take on the winner of the contest between Duke and St. John's, the No. 5 seed, in the Elite Eight.
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