Three Takeaways From UConn's Victory Over BYU
It got way too close for comfort, but ultimately the UConn Huskies walk out of TD Garden with a major sigh of relief as they defeated the BYU Cougars 86-84. It seemed like the Huskies were locked in during the first half, but during the second half they were on their toes for the entire 20 minutes.
The Huskies seemed to let the Cougars back in it all second half, especially as superstar freshman AJ Dybantsa for the Cougars was taking over. But for head coach Dan Hurley and the Huskies, a win is a win although an ugly one. There are a lot of things to talk about on the bus ride back to Storrs, but all is well that ends well, you take wins however you can get them.
But there are things that the Huskies really need to work on. Some of their flaws were exposed, and if this were a game in March, they would be in serious trouble. They're lucky it was only November.
TOP-10 DUB AT TD 🔥 pic.twitter.com/7gPHuKz5Gs
— UConn Men's Basketball (@UConnMBB) November 16, 2025
1. Silas Demary Jr. was good all game long and looked like he belonged
The transfer from the Georgia Bulldogs made a name for himself on a big national stage. In the victory over the Cougars, Demary Jr. finished with 6-12 from the field with 21 points and 8-11 from the free-throw line.
And Demary Jr. came up with a huge steal in the final ten seconds of the game as the Huskies were up 3 points and the Cougars were looking to tie it. This is the type of performance Hurley was looking for when he recruited Demary Jr. to transfer to Storrs.
The Huskies are going to need the kid to keep showing out in these huge games. He is a big part of this offense and will be all-season long.
2. The Huskies defense of Dybantsa got erratic in the second half
In the first half, it seemed like players like Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. were doing such a good job on the Cougars phenom. He was all out of sorts and looked like he was just throwing everything at the rim and it was not falling.
But come the second half, the kid was on a mission and there was nothing the Huskies could do to stop it. He finished the game with 25 points on 8-14 from the field and 7-10 from the free-throw line. The kid took over the second half.
The Huskies need to do better on someone of his caliber. They face another tough team in the Arizona Wildcats coming up and will need to be prepared to shut down their superstars. Dybantsa is the real deal, and the Huskies had an up-and-down time defending him.
3. The Huskies left too many points on the board at the line
Only like every time the Huskies have a game, free throws is something that is talked about. And it needs to be talked about again. The Huskies almost got burned bad as they left 9 points on the board going 18-27 from the free-throw line.
Against a team as good as BYU, leaving points on the board is a huge mistake. And this time, it did not burn them, but in the future it will. Hurley needs to do everything he can to get his guys to practice shooting free throws.
Something has been up with this team all-season long through four games, and it needs to change quickly. Cannot keep leaving points on the board against top teams and expect to win every time, someone will make them pay eventually.
Tyler is a 25 year old Journalism graduate from Georgia Southern University. Tyler is a big fan of hockey, baseball, basketball, and football, and also is a staff writer for Fansided.