It has definitely been a game of runs. The Huskies came out hot, as they took an 18-9 lead when Jayden Ross hit a three-pointer from the corner, and then Tarris Reed Jr got the ball down low by a nice pass from Alex Karaban and Reed finished it with a thunderous dunk. This forced Illinois to call time-out.

Illinois came out strong after the time-out, and went on their own 13-3 run, being finished by Tomislav Ivisic hitting a deep three-pointer to give the Fighting Illini the lead.

In the final 4 minutes, it was all Huskies. Tarris Reed Jr made a hook shot in the lane, Solo Ball hit a three-pointer from the top of the key, Alex Karaban hit a three-pointer from the corner, and Braylon Mullins hit a three-pointer by banking it off the back-board as the shot clock ran down. And the Huskies will take a 37-29 lead into halftime.

At the end of the day, the difference is the three-point shooting. Illinois’ offense is kick-started by their ability to shoot from the outside, and they only made 3 of 14 in the first half. Meanwhile, UConn is 7-18 from three, as Braylon Mullins is 3-5 from deep and Jayden Ross added two three-pointers from the bench.

Tarris Reed Jr looks unstoppable as he has 11 points. And Braylon Mullins has returned home to Indianapolis to get 12 points off his 3 three-pointers.

Keaton Wagler has 10 points, and has had some really pretty drives to the basket, but he has been cold from outside. It certainly was a surprise that the only outside threat for Illinois so far as been their 7’1″ center Tomislav Ivisic.

So, the Huskies have an 8 point lead and are 20 minutes away from the championship game. Will the Huskies defense continue to styme Illinois from the outside, or will the Fighting Illini make a run? As UConn helped continue to remind us last Sunday, no lead is safe in March.