UConn guard Silas Demary Jr. (2) pulls a rebound from Kansas forward Flory Bidunga (40) during the first half on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025 at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug

To hear UConn coach Dan Hurley tell it, the driving force behind the Huskies’ second-half rebounding surge against Kansas on Tuesday at Allen Fieldhouse was pain.

Pain stemming from a realization that the Huskies’ lone previous loss on the year — a 71-67 defeat at home against Arizona on Nov. 19 — was largely a result of getting brutally outrebounded 43-23, and that UConn might be in for a similar fate if it didn’t change things soon against the Jayhawks.

“I think you could see the growth with the team today,” Hurley said after the Huskies rallied to beat KU 61-56. “We knew even though (Kansas) made some early 3s that they were a team that hurts you in the paint. To keep them to 20 paint points and five second-chance points is why we won the game.”

Prior to the game, KU coach Bill Self had cited battling UConn on the glass as a big key to his team’s potential success. The Jayhawks certainly looked like a team placing an emphasis on their rebounding in the opening 20 minutes, when KU center Flory Bidunga had eight boards on his own, no Husky had more than three (guard Silas Demary Jr.) and the overall margin was 22-13.

It went 25-10 in the other direction in the second half, so 38-32 on the night. Only three Jayhawks had even one rebound after the break.

“In the second half, they physically were much quicker to it,” Self said. “Our bigs didn’t rebound and then our guards didn’t clean up at all.”

Self attributed the disparity in part to long rebounds caused by the Huskies’ missed 3-pointers.

And that’s how UConn was able to draw heavily on second-chance points in the course of its rally. The Huskies had nine in the second half alone.

The offensive-rebound onslaught began shortly after the break when Eric Reibe, UConn’s freshman center stepping in for injured star Tarris Reed Jr., dropped in a putback off a miss by Alex Karaban.

Perhaps the most significant play came when the Jayhawks looked to be pulling away — or at least drawing closer to doing something resembling that, given the slow pace of their halfcourt offense — with a 40-33 lead, and the Huskies’ Malachi Smith and Jayden Ross corralled missed 3s by Karaban and Braylon Mullins to eventually set up Mullins for a successful 3-pointer.

KU also allowed an offensive rebound on the middle possession of Karaban’s solo 7-0 run that gave UConn a 45-44 lead it did not relinquish. That one, on yet another missed 3 (by Ross), led to a tough putback for Karaban. Demary later tipped in an errant 3 by Mullins in a one-point game with seven minutes to go.

All the Huskies’ plays on the glass provided a cushion during a second half in which UConn never relinquished its lead following Karaban’s run.

At the other end, KU had two offensive boards in the final 20 minutes, neither of which resulted in points. On one occasion, Tre White immediately traveled when he had an open putback. On the other, which came at a pivotal moment, Bryson Tiller missed a second-chance attempt that could have made the score 57-56 UConn with two minutes to go.

“Just being tougher,” Jackson said. “I mean, that’s really it, we just got to be tougher, secure those rebounds, secure those second-chance points. That’s how they got themselves back in that game.”

The result was a dispiriting home loss that inhibited KU’s growing momentum from last week’s Players Era tournament and left them with work to do ahead of Sunday’s Border Showdown.

Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. on Sunday at the T-Mobile Center.

Kansas head coach Bill Self shows his frustration after wanting a foul called against UConn during the second half on Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025 at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug