The 2025-26 college basketball season is entering the final stage of non-conference play. The holiday season is here, and the conference season is beginning.
One of the best matchups of the entire season will take place on Tuesday night for the Jimmy V Classic. Clemson and BYU meet for the first game of the Classic, then UConn and defending champions, Florida, will meet for the second game. These two teams have won the last three NCAA Tournaments. This will bring a lot of eyes on a day with not many ranked matchups.
UConn is ranked 5th in the country with an 8-1 record. Florida comes in at No. 18 at 5-3. UConn recently defeated Kansas for the very first time ever.
The Huskies are getting back one of their stars for this matchup. Tarris Reed Jr. has not played since their win over No. 13 Illinois.
The 6-foot-11 center leads the team in scoring and rebounding at 15.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He also leads in blocks at 2.0 per contest. Reed Jr. is one of the top seniors in the country after starting only one game for the Huskies last season. Reed Jr. played two seasons at Michigan before transferring ahead of last season.
Dan Hurley and his team look to be a real threat once again this season. He contains a rotation of around 10 guys, with four of them scoring in double digits, and two players right below 9.7 points per game. The Huskies' only loss of the season came against current No. 1 Arizona.
