UConn's Dan Hurley Shares Wild Comparison for Alex Karaban
In this story:
The warning signs had been going off for weeks, and unfortunately, in the last game, it became impossible to ignore. In their previous matchup, the UConn Huskies faced Creighton, a team they beat 85-58 earlier this season. However, this time the match ended differently. The Huskies lost 91-84 at Gampel Pavilion.
The Huskies sent Creighton to the line repeatedly, finishing with 21 personal fouls compared to the Bluejays’ 15, and watched a tied game at halftime unravel. With the regular season almost over, these issues could end the Huskies’ journey in March early.
Despite shooting 54.5 percent in the first half and briefly leading by seven early in the second, the Huskies fell to 34.2 percent shooting after the break. The Bluejays went 17-of-18 from the line in the second half, turning UConn’s defensive issues into points. Soon after the game, Dan Hurley made it clear that there might soon be some changes.
“Maybe just a jolt. I don't, you know, that first group is obviously lacking a perimeter defender. I think that's why you saw Jay Ross play 27 minutes, and that wasn't just because of foul trouble. Just having a guy out there that can be disruptive and potentially shut somebody down out there. It just you know, both at and and and in the front court," Hurley said post game.
In the game, Braylon Mullins scored 25 points with six three-pointers, and Silas Demary Jr. added 17 points and nine assists. Meanwhile, Tarris Reed Jr. battled inside for a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double. Amid all the big numbers, one player’s rather surprisingly poor performance stood out.
Alex Karaban, UConn’s all-time winningest player, finished with just two points. Just days earlier, he had scored 18 and etched his name into program history with his 116th win. This time, though, he looked nothing like himself, and Hurley had something to say about the same.
“And maybe I shouldn't have played Alex today. I don't, you know, he said he was fine. He's dealing with something physically. He was not moving well out there on the court. He was a shell of himself. I don't know if you know, maybe he wants to win so bad. The guy's such a warrior. He knows what time of year it is. We got to figure out what's going on with him physically because he was moving around out there like a cargo ship. Cargo ships move slow,” Hurley said.
It is unfortunate, considering that Karaban has been the Huskies’ metronome this season. From his 23-point outburst against Providence to his 21 against BYU and multiple clutch outings like the 18-point, four-three masterpiece against Georgetown, Karaban has been reliable all season. However, Karaban is not the only reason the Huskies lost.
Huskies Need to Fix Two Major Issues Before March
UConn’s fouling continued just as badly as it did during the Georgetown game, when the Huskies committed 20 personal fouls and allowed 23 free-throw attempts. Against Creighton, it repeated and ended badly. The Huskies have made a total of 500 personal fouls this season as opposed to 474 by their opponents.
Then there is the issue of defensive rebounding. Against Georgetown, UConn’s centers combined for just three total rebounds, while the team allowed 11 offensive boards that turned directly into 11 second-chance points. Even in the Creighton loss, the Bluejays finished with a 41-35 edge on the glass.
As Hurley rightly put it after the Georgetown game, “If we don’t fix our s---, though, we’re not going to have a championship season.”
-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.