VILLANOVA, Pa. – On January 18, 2020, UConn coach Danny Hurley famously told the college basketball world that the Huskies were coming. “We’re on our way back,” he said after a loss to Villanova. “People better get us now, that’s all. They better get us now. It’s coming.”
That was the season before UConn rejoined the Big East. Three years later, the Huskies won the national title. Last season, they did it again.
Now is also a good time for Big East teams to get UConn, which is playing without star freshman Liam McNeeley. The 6-foot-7 forward suffered a high ankle sprain in the Huskies’ 81-68 win at DePaul on New Year’s Day and is expected to be out for a couple more weeks.
In their first game without McNeeley, the Huskies dug out of a 12-point halftime deficit for an 87-84 home win over Providence on January 5. But UConn couldn’t overcome a 12-point second-half deficit one game later, losing at Villanova 68-66 on January 8 after Alex Karaban missed a pair of free throws with 3.1 seconds left with UConn down a point.

“This is a good time to play us with Liam out,” Hurley said afterward.
The coach, chuckling, cut off my follow-up question.
HoopsHQ: “You said this is a good time to get you right now …
Hurley: “You trying to drag me into, IIt’s coming?’ Because I’m not going to do that. I actually thought about it, ‘You better get us before he gets healthy.’ I’m not going to go back to the well.”
As the laughter subsided, I resumed the question and asked Hurley what he’s looking for right now with McNeeley on the mend.
“Listen, if (Villanova) played without (Eric) Dixon or without (Wooga) Poplar, or Marquette plays without Kam Jones, that’s what Liam McNeeley is for us,” Hurley said. “If you would’ve told me coming in here versus that team that we would have a chance to win that game late, I’d be thrilled with that. For us, while Liam’s out, we’ve got to find a way to develop the young guys we need to develop and win enough of these games so that we’re not demoralized when he gets back.”
Against Villanova, the Huskies got a big lift from sophomore Jaylin Stewart. Starting in place of McNeeley and making his third start of the season, the 6-foot-7 forward scored 14 points, 10 of which came in the first half, while shooting 6 of 9 from the field and 2 of 5 from three-point range. The Seattle native added three rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
“We were thrilled with the way he played, and that’s encouraging, both in the short term and the long term,” Hurley said. “I couldn’t have asked for more from Jaylin Stewart. That’s gotta be a confidence builder for him.”

Ultimately, McNeeley’s absence could benefit the Huskies if players like Stewart progress with more playing time.
“Any game with Liam out is going to be tough, but if we can see some development from some of these sophomores, it’s going to bode well for us,” Hurley said. “If we get (Stewart) playing at that level, then Liam’s injury becomes a positive once we get him at full strength.”
Stewart went scoreless a game later at Georgetown, but another sophomore reserve, Jayden Ross, contributed seven points in the Huskies’ 68-60 win over the Hoyas on January 11 in Washington, D.C. Karaban bounced back from his late free throw misses at Villanova, with 19 points, six rebounds and four assists to lift UConn in front of a packed crowd at Capital One Arena. The attendance of 17,168 was the largest for a Georgetown home game since December 5, 2015.
DePaul’s three-point success drops in Big East
DePaul entered Big East play as one of the conference’s best three-point teams but hasn’t had the same success from beyond the arc in the early going of conference action. The Blue Demons shot 40 percent (134 of 335) from the arc in 11 non-conference games, going 9-2, but dipped to 32.6 percent (62 of 190) in seven league matchups, all of which have been losses.
Coach Chris Holtmann pointed to the difference in size and physicality of the Big East as main reasons for the change.
“It’s just a different level of physicality and size that you’re seeing in this league night in and night out,” Holtmann told HoopsHQ after DePaul went 7 of 27 from long range in a 100-56 loss at Villanova on January 4. “They’re able to get out to shooters. Some of it has been switching. More than anything, it’s been size and athleticism.”
DePaul’s three-point numbers were helped by Isaiah Rivera draining four shots from long range in the final 50 seconds of overtime in the Blue Demons’ valiant effort in an 85-83 home loss to No. 7 Marquette on Tuesday night. David Joplin scored 30 points for the Golden Eagles, who improved to 6-0 in the Big East, and hit consecutive three-pointers to start OT to put the visitors in control.
A bright spot for the Blue Demons all season has been the play of transfer Jacob Meyer. A native of Covington, Kentucky, the 6-foot-3 guard leads the team in scoring (13.9 points per game) while shooting 38.8 percent (40 of 103). He averaged 15.7 points and shot 41 percent from beyond the arc as a freshman last season at Coastal Carolina after a prolific career at Holy Cross High School, where he accumulated 3,280 points and had 40 or more points 30 times. “I love playing in the Big East,” Meyer told HoopsHQ. “I grew up watching Big East basketball, so it’s awesome playing in the Big East.”

Around The Rim
- Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner, the Big East’s Preseason Player of the Year, had 16 points, nine rebounds and five blocks in the Bluejays’ 57-56 win over St. John’s on December 31, becoming the first player in league history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 blocks in regular season competition. A game later, in a 79-71 loss at Marquette, Kalkbrenner had 16 points to become the fourth Creighton player to eclipse 2,000 career points, joining Doug McDermott, Rodney Buford and Bob Harstad.
- In its comeback win at Butler on January 1, Villanova closed the game on a 22-1 run. The Wildcats trailed 64-51 with 6:03 left, but the Bulldogs missed their final nine field goals, including five three-pointers, and committed three turnovers down the stretch as Villanova turned up its defensive intensity. “We just talked about getting stops,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “They were getting to the rim at will. … It definitely felt like we locked up defensively.” The Wildcats then opened their next game, against DePaul on January 4, by scoring the first 13 points, making it 35-1 outsourcing opponents over a 10 ½-minute stretch over two games.
- Though it lost to Georgetown 69-63 on January 3, Xavier got a good sign with the return of big man Zach Freemantle. Fremantle had missed the previous three games with a lower body injury, which he suffered at the end of the Dec. 14 loss to Cincinnati. Fremantle has an unfortunate history with injuries. When he went out, Musketeers coach Sean Miller thought he might be done for the season. Instead he returned to put up 16 points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes. Freemantle followed it up with 22 points in an 82-72 loss at St. John’s on January 7, and 20 points and nine boards in a 77-63 win at DePaul on January 11; and had 10 points and nine rebounds in a win over Villanova on Tuesday.
- In the win over the Wildcats, Xavier’s Ryan Conwell scored 34 points in 32 minutes and hit a pair of clutch three-pointers late. The Musketeers trailed by three with 1:51 remaining before Conwell’s four-point play put them ahead. After a Villanova turnover, Conwell drained another three-pointer. Then, he followed a Villanova missed jumper with a pair of free throws.
- Georgetown dropped its first league game on January 7 at Marquette, 74-66, after the Golden Eagles got a career-high 27 points from Chase Ross. In defeat, freshman Thomas Sorber recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds. “Well, obviously, that was an incredible Big East game,” Georgetown coach Ed Cooley said. “And I feel like our young Hoyas are growing up in front of our eyes.” The Hoyas fought gamely on Tuesday night in Madison Square Garden but fell to St. John’s, 63-58.
- Isaiah Coleman hit a three-pointer with five seconds left in regulation and then scored seven points in overtime to lead Seton Hall to an 85-80 home victory over DePaul on January 8 in a matchup of previously winless Big East teams. Coleman finished with 24 points, along with six rebounds and five assists.
- Making his first career start, freshman Ryan Mela, a 6-foot-6 forward from Natick, Massachusetts, had 10 points and 15 rebounds to help Providence to an 84-65 home win over Butler on January 8.
- On January 11, Creighton’s Steven Ashworth was one assist short of a triple-double in the Bluejays’ 80-76 win at Butler, finishing with 22 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists. The Bulldogs lost their ninth straight game, their longest skid since dropping 11 in a row during the 1989-90 season.
- Deivon Smith (shoulder) did not play for St. John’s in the Red Storm’s 63-58 home win over Georgetown on January 14 after getting injured in the prior contest versus Villanova on January 11. Coach Rick Pitino told reporters after defeating the Hoyas that he expects Smith to return for the January 18 contest at Seton Hall.

Upcoming Games to Watch
Creighton at UConn, Saturday, Noon, FOX
The Huskies got some encouraging news on January 10 when coach Dan Hurley announced that star freshman Liam McNeeley removed the walking boot from his right foot. UConn likely won’t have McNeeley back from his high ankle sprain against the Bluejays, though. Still, the Huskies have plenty of firepower and the backing of their home crowd, but the Bluejays won’t be an easy out.
Georgetown at Villanova, Monday, 6 p.m., FS1
It’s a rematch of the 1985 NCAA title game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and it should be a good one. With a win over two-time defending national champion UConn, Villanova has shown it can beat the Big East’s best. And the Wildcats will need to be on top of their game against the Hoyas, who are a Big East team on the rise.
Villanova at Marquette, Friday, January 24, 7 p.m., FS1
Marquette could enter this matchup 8-0 in the Big East, as the Golden Eagles host Xavier and play at Seton Hall prior to welcoming Villanova. Undefeated or not, the Golden Eagles will get a test from the Wildcats.
DePaul at Butler, Saturday, January 25, 4 p.m., CBSSN
Both teams began this week winless in the Big East and still could be by the time they play each other. The winner of this one could avoid finishing last in the Big East.