Dan Hurley Gives UConn's Defense a Bold Label
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The UConn Huskies keep winning, and the numbers next to their record continue to reinforce the belief that this season, the Huskies are built to weather almost anything. At 8-1, with a four-game win streak and their only loss coming against an Arizona team playing at its apex. The Huskies have begun to slowly settle into a rhythm that bears an eerie resemblance to the championship teams.
Their last matchup was against East Texas A&M, and it ended with the Huskies winning 83–59. It was a night where the offense heated up late, but the defense kept the game alive, holding East Texas A&M under 40% from the field, forcing 18 points off turnovers. And that’s exactly why, soon after the game, Hurley decided to talk about his defense.
“The reason why we won back-to-back championships was because we had a defense that could sustain us on nights when our offense was up against another great defense,” Hurley said. “You can’t do this without an elite-level defense, top-five defense, a top-10 defense. You’re not winning anything.”
The Huskies held East Texas A&M to 38.9% shooting, forced turnovers that turned into 18 points, and walled off the paint so thoroughly they won that battle 58–22. However, Hurley also mentioned that the offensive rhythm isn’t far away.
“I think that’s how you become bulletproof as a team, when you can win games in different fashions," Hurley said. "I do think, offensively, things will come around. I think we’re close there. I think we’re not quite seeing it from an execution standpoint. I thought we did a better job with the versa-switch today of driving centers and posting small guys. That’s what you have to do when people switch."
got here with an AK 🚨 beater https://t.co/I0M0qsWaSD pic.twitter.com/CVGimZ0sTc
— UConn Men's Basketball (@UConnMBB) December 6, 2025
East Texas A&M never really got to run its offense the way it wanted, and that’s where UConn’s defense took over the night. After the score sat at 8–8, the Huskies started blowing up first options, switching cleanly on the perimeter and forcing the Lions into a steady diet of late-clock jumpers.
And the broader landscape backs Hurley up, too. UConn sits No. 7 in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 60.6 points per game. Meanwhile, the Huskies are nowhere in the Top-50 in offensive scoring. Despite the brilliance on the court, one issue still plagues the Huskies.
UConn’s Foul Trouble Suggests Dan Hurley’s Squad Isn’t Bulletproof
Even in a rotation that finally has Braylon Mullins and Tarris Reed Jr, UConn keeps finding itself in foul-heavy nights that chip away at rhythm and rotations. December has barely begun, yet the Huskies have already had multiple games that saw a whistle symphony.
One of the worst was the exhibition match against Michigan State, where both teams combined made 56 total fouls and 74 free throws. This season, UConn’s aggressive defensive style is part of its identity, but it also means they commit a lot of fouls.
The Huskies no longer have the luxury of rim suppression that Donovan Clingan brought. While Reed’s eventual full-strength presence should help stabilize the back line, he’s still working into form.
Freshman Eric Reibe has been brilliant filling the gap, averaging 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds over his last five, but foul trouble can drag even the deepest rotations into murky territory. UConn has committed 161 personal fouls through its first nine games.
Jayden Ross, Silas Demary Jr., and Alex Karaban are leading the whistle count with 20+ personal fouls. Solo Ball and Eric Reiebe follow them with 15+ fouls. However, it's still December, and the Huskies have already made noise.
They’ve beaten Illinois and BYU, pushed Arizona to the wire, and handled East Texas A&M with ease, all without their full roster ever truly intact. Mullins is only beginning to unlock what UConn’s spacing can look like and has only made 6 fouls in 3 games. Reed has played just four games and made 9 fouls.
So if Hurley believes this defense is becoming bulletproof, the question hanging over the next month is: What happens once UConn becomes whole, disciplined and still just as ferocious?
-fd44250df32912986cc6690f0b8bfa32.png "Shivani Menon")
Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.