After Dan Hurley lost his temper — and the game — against Memphis on Monday afternoon, it was imperative that he and his Huskies get back to their winning ways against Colorado on Tuesday. Instead, Hurley and his team headed back to their hotel in Maui stunned and searching for answers following their 73-72 loss. It was UConn’s second straight loss to an unranked team and even though they came by a combined three points, the twin defeats served as a shocking reminder that this is a new season and these Huskies have yet to win anything significant, much less an NCAA championship.
“We’re not a program that’s used to losing,” Hurley said on Monday. “But I think we are a program with a lot of character, and we’ll respond.”
The last time UConn lost a game was Feb. 20. The Huskies hadn’t lost a November game since Nov. 25, 2021. They hadn’t lost back-to-back games since Jan. 18, 2023. The Huskies came into the Maui Invitational as the favorite to emerge as the champion in a loaded field. Now, they will play for seventh place tomorrow. Hurley has shown a great deal of bravado since claiming his second straight title, but he conceded afterwards that he and his team have been humbled. “It’s been a tough two days,” he said. “We didn’t expect ourselves to find ourselves in this position out here based on where we’ve been but this is where we are.”
There’s no doubt as to the biggest culprit: the defense. The Huskies allowed Colorado to shoot 51.1 percent from the field, 56.3 percent from three-point range and attempt 28 free throws. In Monday’s overtime loss to Memphis, the Huskies allowed the Tigers to shoot 54.7 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from three. “Our defense has been so dreadful,” Hurley said. “We’ve been bad out here defensively.”
Once again, officiating was part of the story. On Monday, Hurley was whistled for a late technical foul in overtime while arguing an over-the-back call on freshman forward Liam McNeely. Hurley made his displeasure known not only in the heat of the moment, but in his postgame press conference. Hurley was not whistled for a technical in the loss to Colorado, but he was not happy with the foul trouble that vexed his big man Samson Johnson, veteran wing Alex Karaban and Diarra. The basketball gods also showed off their sense of humor when Colorado forward Trevor Baskin went up from behind McNeeley and grabbed a late rebound with no whistle stopping the play. That rebound allowed Colorado to call a timeout before senior forward Andrej Jakimovski’s layup ultimately became the game winner.
“It’s ironic,” Hurley said of the no call. “It just speaks to how these last two days have gone for us. Yesterday the biggest play of the game was an over the back that was called against us and today it was more egregious because Baskin pulled Liam’s arm down.”
Regardless of whether those calls were correct, it’s clear that UConn’s problems go well beyond officiating. They can start trying to fix them tomorrow, with seventh place at the Maui Invitational on the line. It’s a long way from the NCAA championship, but as Hurley said, this is where they are.
