There is trouble in paradise. The UConn men’s basketball team (4-2) fell to Colorado in the loser’s bracket of the Maui Invitational.
For the first time this season, head coach Dan Hurley tried a new starting lineup, giving the nod to Hassan Diarra over Aidan Mahaney. Even though he received criticism for how he played in Monday’s loss to Memphis, Samson Johnson remained in the starting lineup.
Johnson won the tip and instantly completed an alley-oop play assisted by Diarra. In October, assistant coach Tom Moore talked about Diarra being a primary lob thrower for Johnson. Lately, Hurley had been emphasizing a need for his team to implement their lob game that was present throughout the 2023-24 run to a second-consecutive national title.
Liam McNeeley looked sharp in the first half after a 10-point performance in 31 minutes against Memphis. He had 16 points in the first half and already had more shot attempts than he did in the team’s Maui opener. He knocked down four of his five made baskets from 3-point range.
Five players who saw the floor went into the locker room with two fouls, including Tarris Reed Jr. Hurley brought in Youssouf Singare to close out the half as Johnson had two fouls as well.
“The foul trouble has taken its toll,” Hurley said, later saying that the team is not physical and there were some undisciplined fouls and technique. “I don’t think we’ve gotten a great whistle out here.”
Ahmad Nowell did not see the court in the first game of the Maui Invitational but checked in at 9:34 in the first half. He instantly made an impact, playing for 10 minutes and a team-high four assists for the first 20 minutes.
“[Nowell] in the first half, I liked,” Hurley said. “[Nowell] in the second half, he showed his inexperience. He played with some physicality out there. I think he’s going to be a good player. I think we have to play him.”
The fouls continued to hurt the Huskies in the second half, even as early as the first 10 seconds, where Johnson got called for his third foul. He would foul out for the second-straight game along with Reed with 2:04 to play.
McNeeley did not continue to steal the show in the second half. He was attended to by athletic trainer James Doran twice and was in visible pain with his left hip bothering him. Despite this, he led all scorers with 20 points in 33 minutes.
“I don’t know what [McNeeley’s] status was,” Hurley said. “He went out for a bit. It’s something with his hip. I’m not sure what that’s going to look like.”
Colorado was led by 16-point efforts by Julian Hammond III and Elijah Malone, the latter of whom scored 12 points in the second half to lead all scorers. Head coach Tad Boyle called Malone “a weapon” in the postgame press conference.
“We’ve been bad out here, defensively,” Hurley said.
The Buffaloes shot 51.1% from the field and 56.3% from 3-point range. Those numbers were much higher in the second half, shooting 62.5% and 55.6% respectively.
While there were sparks by Diarra and Solo Ball, they did not have the consistency and blew an 11-point lead. Ball finished with 16 points, knocking down four 3-pointers.
With 24 seconds remaining, Colorado’s Trevor Baskin grabbed an offensive rebound that looked to be an over-the-back foul, with him going over McNeeley. Boyle said he thought the officiating crew was strong and “called it how they saw it.”
“[The call] had a big impact on the game,” Hurley said. “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. Today, it was more egregious. Baskin pulled [McNeeley’s] arm coming down. I saw the replay. It’s ironic, but our defense has been so dreadful out here.”
With eight seconds left, Colorado’s Andrej Jakimovski made a driving second-chance layup. After a full timeout by Connecticut, it was Diarra again who had the final shot with the game on the line. Diarra had made his first three 3-pointers before the final shot, but his fourth attempt was deja vu to the final seconds of the Memphis game.
It is the first time the Huskies have lost back-to-back games since losing to St. John’s and Seton Hall on Jan. 15 and 18, 2023.
UConn will take on the loser of No. 5 Iowa State and Dayton on Wednesday at midnight (so technically Thursday morning) on ESPN2.