No. 4 Arizona dominates paint battle in win at No. 3 UConn - ESPN

STORRS, Conn. — With about 90 minutes to go until tipoff, Wednesday's top-five matchup between No. 3 UConn and No. 4 Arizona completely changed.

That's when UConn announced that starting senior center Tarris Reed Jr. was out with a sprained ankle. Reed, one of the nation's best big men who is averaging 20.0 points and 9.3 rebounds, is considered to be game-to-game, according to the team.

Without Reed, UConn struggled mightily to slow down Arizona, with the Wildcats putting forth one of the most dominant paint displays against the Huskies under Dan Hurley en route to a 71-67 road win.

«With Reed out of the game, we're not going to say it doesn't change things. We know it changes things,» Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said. «But if you get a good hop, field it and turn two. And our guys found a way to do that.»

It was clear what Arizona intended to do against a Reed-less UConn frontcourt. Koa Peat had an early layup. Motiejus Krivas was getting consistent paint touches and set a career high with 10 rebounds before the first half even ended. Jaden Bradley was constantly attacking the rim and drawing fouls.

Arizona is one of the least prolific 3-point shooting teams in the country, entering the day making 6.3 3s per game and ending it ranked No. 360 in percentage of points coming from 3-point range. The Wildcats' identity is clear, and UConn was still incapable of slowing them down at the rim.

«That's how we're built,» Lloyd said. «If you're not up for the physical fight, it's going to be tough. It's going to be tough to be a team that wins consistently at a high level. It's going to be tough to win on the road. It's going to be tough to win in the NCAA tournament. It's going to be tough to make a deep run. We want to build our