TORONTO (AP) — Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles scored 17 points as the Toronto Raptors beat the Atlanta Hawks 118-100 on Monday night.
Murray-Boyles added seven rebounds and seven assists for Toronto (22-15) in place of injured starter Jakob Poeltl (back strain). Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic confirmed before that game that Poeltl had been cleared for contact.
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Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, left, tries to stop Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) who looks to shoot during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, center, has the ball stripped by Toronto Raptors guard Ja'kobe Walter, left, as Raptors' Brandon Ingram (3) looks on during second-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) tries to strip the ball from Atlanta Hawks centre Kristaps Porzingis (8) during second half NBA basketball action in Toronto, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett, left, tries to strip the ball from Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) during second-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) is fouled on his way to the net by Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead, front right, during second-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Scottie Barnes finished with 18 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds as the Raptors beat the Hawks for the second straight game. Toronto defeated Atlanta 134-117 on Saturday.
Brandon Ingram had 19 points and nine rebounds as seven Toronto players reached double digits in scoring.
Jalen Johnson had 13 points and 14 rebounds and Onyeka Okongwu finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta (17-21).
Kristaps Porzingis returned to the Hawks’ lineup, after missing the second game of a back-to-back, scoring nine points in 20 minutes off the bench.
Hawks guard Trae Young missed another game as he recovers from a right quadriceps contusion.
Although both teams struggled with their 3-point shooting, Atlanta had a poor shooting night overall. The Hawks went 35 for 89 (39.3%) from the field, including 12 for 34 from 3-point distance.
The Raptors outscored the Hawks 64-44 in the paint. Toronto shot 47 for 90 (52.2%) from the field.
Hawks: Host New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.
Raptors: At Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, left, tries to stop Toronto Raptors forward Brandon Ingram (3) who looks to shoot during first-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, center, has the ball stripped by Toronto Raptors guard Ja'kobe Walter, left, as Raptors' Brandon Ingram (3) looks on during second-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes (4) tries to strip the ball from Atlanta Hawks centre Kristaps Porzingis (8) during second half NBA basketball action in Toronto, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Toronto Raptors forward RJ Barrett, left, tries to strip the ball from Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) during second-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) is fouled on his way to the net by Toronto Raptors guard Jamal Shead, front right, during second-half NBA basketball game action in Toronto, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tarris Reed Jr. sat at his locker Thursday, fielding questions about his run as the interior-scoring, rebound-snagging force in UConn's latest Final Four push.
Yet he wasn't the main attraction.
That's because across the room, an even bigger gaggle of reporters waited for freshman guard Braylon Mullins — the Indiana kid who hit an all-timer of a shot to send the Huskies back to the sport's biggest stage — to return for his own round of interviews.
“Guards are the ones that hit the big shots,” Reed said Thursday when asked about big men getting their due, adding with a grin: “We just do our job, we do the dirty work — and we're used to doing it our whole life so we have fun doing it.”
Maybe so, but there's no minimalizing the impact of size this week in Indianapolis. Not with the Final Four boasting its biggest quartet of teams going back roughly two decades, starting with guys such as Reed, Michigan's Aday Mara, Arizona's Koa Peat and Illinois' 7-foot Ivisic twins as anchors to lineups with size radiating all the way out to the perimeter.
The average height of the Final Four teams is nearly 79.1 inches, or roughly 6 feet 6, according to KenPom’s analytics site. That edges last year’s average of nearly 78.3 inches for the biggest of any Final Four going back to the start of KenPom’s data in 2007.
Illinois (28-8) is Division I's tallest team with an average roster height of nearly 6-7 (80 inches), while Arizona (36-2) is seventh at nearly 6-6 (79 inches). Michigan (35-3) and UConn (33-5) are in the top 30 nationally with nearly identical averages slightly behind the Wildcats.
Consider it a sign of the premium each team put on building a roster to overwhelm teams inside, on the glass and with game-altering length spanning the gaps between.
That kind of size, strength and wingspan creates trouble cascading through the matchups. ACC Network analyst Luke Hancock said teams are also thriving by finding power forwards and centers capable of stepping outside to stretch defenses further and create space, eliminating the ability for a defense to simply collapse on a lone big man.
“Guards still win in March,” said Hancock, the most outstanding player of the 2013 Final Four in Louisville’s later-vacated title run. "But I think these guys have become almost like a necessary component. If you want to win championships, you need a big 4 and a monster 5.”
And it's manifesting in several ways as March Madness reaches its final act.
The Illini have had the best defensive tournament efficiency of the Final Four teams while dominating the glass to complete those stops. Their roster includes an influx of European talent, including Tomislav (7-1) and Zvonimir Ivisic (7-2), as well as 6-9 forward David Mirkovic from Montenegro.
The Illini also brings 6-9, 235-pound graduate Ben Humrichous off the bench, while the outlier in the big lineup is 6-2 senior guard Kylan Boswell as a strong backcourt defender.
The South Region champion has allowed .976 points per possession in the NCAA Tournament to lead the remaining four teams. Throw in the fact that Illinois is outrebounding opponents by 16.3 per game, and it's been a perfectly timed boost to an already elite offense with those forwards and centers capable of hitting from behind the arc, too.
"Playing in the summer, you could tell it’s a little bit harder to do some things just because you’ve got Z at the rim, who’s 7-foot-2 and a great shot blocker," 6-6 forward Jake Davis said. “You got Tommy down there. So anybody you’re going up against in practice is super tall. ... We’ve just got a bunch of length everywhere. And you could tell early on that we could cause problems for other teams.”
The Illini will be tested against Reed, a 6-foot-11, 265-pound senior whose scoring (21.8) and rebounding (13.5) averages in the tournament are the best of any player still standing.
That included opening the tournament with a video game-type stat line of 31 points and 27 rebounds against Furman, making him the first player with 30-plus points and 25-plus rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game since Houston’s Elvin Hayes did it twice in 1968.
He’s coming off a 26-point showing in the comeback from 19 down to stun Duke in the Elite Eight.
“He’s a monster,” said UConn senior Alex Karaban, who was part of the Huskies’ 2023 and 2024 title winners. “He’s been so dominant. He’s really playing like the most dominant player in college basketball right now.”
When it comes to the No. 1 seeds, the Wolverines have hummed with 90-plus points in four tournament wins. The Wildcats have been right behind in offensive efficiency despite being shooting fewer 3-pointers than just about every other Division I team all season.
Their meeting Saturday matches strengths.
Michigan has used the 7-3, 255-pound Mara to protect the paint, flanked by a pair of versatile 6-9 forwards in Associated Press first-team All-American Yaxel Lendeborg (240 pounds) and Morez Johnson Jr. (250).
“Our size definitely makes it tougher for smaller guards,” Lendeborg said. “Because we’re so versatile ... we can switch and guard point guards, make their life a little harder. And you know, we’re all strong bodies too. So we try to wear down teams.
“And then, toward the end of the game, that’s when we usually make our runs when we need it.”
Michigan will be tested against the Wildcats with 7-2 center Motiejus Krivas (10.4 points, 8.2 rebounds) and Peat, a 6-8, 235-pound freshman considered a strong NBA prospect.
“If you don't have the big to defend other bigs, you can't compete at this level in my opinion,” Hancock said.
“How do you make it so you're really tough to guard and you have an advantage? It’s the 4-men in this Final Four who are just so talented and the diversity of their skill sets — they can do so many things. That is the ultimate to me.”
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
Arizona forward Koa Peat (10) dunks during the second half in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Purdue, Saturday, March 28, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Kelley L Cox)
Iowa's Tavion Banks (6) has his shot blocked by Illinois' Zvonimir Ivisic (44) during the first half of an Elite Eight game in the NCAA college basketball tournament Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
UConn forward Tarris Reed Jr. (5) reacts after the team's win against Duke in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
