Dan Hurley Rips UConn’s Dreadful Defense
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The UConn Huskies faced Big East opponent Creighton in their last game and lost 91-84 at Gampel Pavilion. The Huskies had been nearly unbeatable at home for three months, yet Creighton walked in, attacked individual matchups, and exposed cracks that had been widening for a while now.
UConn led 63-59 with just over 12 minutes left, fueled by Braylon Mullins’ 25 points and strong playmaking from Silas Demary Jr., who added 17 points and nine assists. Despite it all, the floor collapsed defensively.
Creighton came back with a 14-2 run, repeatedly forcing fouls. The Bluejays shot 49.1 percent overall and 84.4 percent from the line, including 17-of-18 in the second half. Soon after the match, Dan Hurley did not sugarcoat the blatant issues.
"Our defense has just been so so bad. These last four games, and I think we've been around the 165th-best defense in the country," Hurley said post game.. "So, we've been playing with fire with this. Obviously, overall defense is dreadful. And then, you know, minus Braylon in the second half, you know, just the shot making was just ice cold.”
That frustration comes from what has been happening on the floor repeatedly. Even in games UConn won, the defensive control Hurley expects has slipped. Providence pushed UConn to overtime in a 103-98 shootout, Villanova scored 81 in another close contest, and now Creighton added 91, the highest total UConn has allowed at home this season.
“So, but this has been brewing, you know, for us, just based on what the defense has looked like. The defense has been a joke," Hurley admitted. "You're in trouble to start the game when you're subbing people within the first minute, minute and a half of the game on blown assignments, and I mean I could have just done that the whole game, because it was a game of just really bad individual defense.”
The rebounding issues have also been showing up. Creighton grabbed 41 boards to UConn’s 35, including critical defensive rebounds during their decisive second-half run, limiting UConn to just one shot while converting on the other end. Even season-long, opponents have attempted 612 free throws compared to UConn’s 496.
“I mean, Creighton just went at us from a one-on-one standpoint for the team that really shares the ball. They're obviously their game plan was just to go at individuals that they identified that can't guard the ball. On 27 field goals, they had 10 assists. So, they just went at individuals. And that's what's been going on the last couple games. Teams are coaches are smart. They're targeting our guys that can't guard. And, if we can't fix that, you know, we're going to obviously have issues moving forward,” Hurley added.
That warning carries weight because everything else about UConn still looks championship-level. They average 79.4 points per game, shoot nearly 49 percent from the field, and own a +13.3 scoring margin. However, winning in March without defensive reliability will be tough.
Dan Hurley Has Four More Games to Fix Nagging Issues
Next up, UConn travels to Villanova, a program the Huskies have controlled recently, winning eight of the last 10 matchups and each of the past three. Their most recent meeting ended in a 75-67 UConn win early this season.
The urgency won’t fade after Villanova. Then comes a rematch with St. John’s, offering a shot at redemption after the Red Storm handed UConn one of its three losses this season. Then come Seton Hall and Marquette. Right after, the Big East Tournament begins at Madison Square Garden.
-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.