No. 5 UConn freshman Braylon Mullins plays 10 minutes in debut against No. 13 Illinois

By Canadian Press on November 28, 2025.

NEW YORK (AP) — Touted freshman guard Braylon Mullins played 10 minutes in his debut for No. 5 UConn on Friday in their 74-61 win over No. 13 Illinois after missing more than a month with an ankle injury.

Limited to about 15 minutes, Mullins checked in for the first time with about 12 minutes left in the first half. His only basket in five attempts was a jumper that gave the Huskies a 63-42 lead with 11:27 left and got a loud ovation from the UConn fans in the crowd.

“He’s going to continue to get better,” UConn forward Alex Karaban said about Mullins. “He’s going to continue to grow and he’s getting way more comfortable there. What he does in practice, he kills in practice, he’s going to get more comfortable there.”

Mullins’ lone appearance for the Huskies occurred Oct. 13 when he scored 12 points in an exhibition game against Boston College. He injured his ankle during a subsequent practice and began fully participating in practices this week.

Mullins is the top recruit for UConn, which also added Silas Demary Jr. from Georgia and Malachi Smith from Dayton in the transfer portal. Last season as a senior for Greenfield-Central High School in Indiana, Mullins averaged 25 points and shot 47% from 3-point range.

Besides Mullins, Tarris Reed Jr. returned after missing the previous two games with an ankle injury. Reed also sat out the season-opener against New Haven with a hamstring injury and is averaging 20 points and 9.3 rebounds this season.

Also on a minute limit, Reed scored two points and grabbed five rebounds in nearly 15 minutes. He missed a jumper in the first half and two layups in the second half and allowed the Huskies to use freshman Eric Reibe off the bench as a backup center.

“Tarris is probably a week ahead of where he should be, but that kid was just a warrior today,” said Huskies coach Danny Hurley, who later added Reed’s minutes would not be restricted for Tuesday’s game at Kansas.

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Larry Fleisher, The Associated Press

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