After a short three-day layoff, the UConn men’s basketball team traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to take on the Villanova Wildcats on the road. For the second game in a row, forward Liam McNeeley missed action with a high ankle sprain injury, and the effects were palpable. The Huskies could not get the job done on the road, getting knocked off 68-66.
The first half for Connecticut started on a high note. Tough on and off-ball defense on the first possession led to a Wildcats’ turnover. In place of the injured McNeeley, Jaylin Stewart shot the lights out, scoring 10 first-half points and making four of his first five attempts from the field. However, despite these good feelings early on for Connecticut, Villanova controlled the first 20 minutes of this contest.
Outside of Stewart’s 10-point scoring, no one on the Huskies could find the bottom of the net they are accustomed to. Solo Ball failed to record a point on 0-3 shooting, and Alex Karaban finished the first half with just a layup. However, it wasn’t just Connecticut’s offense that let them down; their defense did, too, coupled with Villanova’s offense, which came into Wednesday’s contest ranked No. 5 in the nation.
Wooga Poplar did an excellent job early on. The Villanova guard had Solo Ball’s number early on, leading all Villanova scorers with nine points on 4-6 shooting. Not to mention, Jordan Longino accumulated seven points in 17 minutes of work. While this alone made it seem like the Wildcats completely ran away with this contest, UConn did do something right early on, and it was how they guarded Eric Dixon. Villanova’s leading scorer failed to impact the contest like he typically does, finishing with five points on 1-8 shooting. This mitigated the onset of offensive blues for UConn, as the program only trailed their Big East rivals by seven points at halftime.
Postgame, Head Coach Dan Hurley noted that he was particularly frustrated with the lack of aggressiveness from Karaban, Ball and Hassan Diarra in the first half, who combined for only six shot attempts. A figure much too low for the Huskies to remain competitive, especially with McNeeley sidelined.
The second half started on a sour note for UConn, as the program never seemed to get out to the advantage they so desperately needed. Poplar continued rolling into the second half, putting up an additional nine points in 20 minutes of work. Despite the work from the senior guard, the Huskies weren’t done for, thanks to the scoring effort of Ball, who shook off his rough offensive first half in a significant way.
The sophomore guard shot the lights out, scoring 18 points on 6-11 shooting, including 4-8 from deep. Diarra also stepped up for the Huskies in the second half, scoring nine points. Karaban also put up a respectable eight points on 3-7 shooting. Despite all of UConn’s crucial players stepping up to sustain the offensive attack, it was no match for Dixon, who shrugged off his lackluster first half in a massive way.
The senior forward killed the UConn defense from all spots on the floor, accumulating 15 second-half points on five buckets, including his perfect 7-7 performance from the charity stripe.
However, despite heroics from both sides, the second half quickly turned from a double-digit UConn deficit to a tug-of-war match, with both sides trading scores and never jumping out to more than a seven-point lead after the first five minutes. However, thanks to a 13-2 Connecticut run and a Ball three with 8:38 remaining in the half, the Huskies had their first lead since the five-minute mark of the first half. Despite this, Villanova quickly retained the advantage on the scoreboard, and the Huskies had multiple chances to put their Big East rivals in a compromising position, but they never capitalized.
With a little over two minutes remaining, Jhamir Brickus swished in a stepback jumper for the Wildcats, extending their lead to six. With the Huskies clinging on by a thread, they needed a big shot, and they got it from none other than Karaban. The sophomore knocked down a massive jumper to put the Huskies within a possession, and all the program needed was one more. One more stop, one more triple and this nightmare of a game at the Finneran Pavilion would finally be over, with UConn yet again making it by the skin of their teeth. However, Wednesday’s game did not end in the cookie-cutter fashion that Hurley’s squad would have liked.
With 20 seconds left, Karaban had a chance to put UConn up. Driving to the rim, he went up. However, his layup was rejected, and suddenly, the ball fell to the floor. Both white and blue jerseys dove to the floor, claiming possession for their side. However, a jump ball was called, and luckily enough for Connecticut, they retained possession, meaning they got one more chance at winning the game. Diarra had yet another chance down low for the Huskies, but he, too, was rejected. Seven ticks remained in the ballgame this time, and UConn still needed a score. Karaban got a look at the bucket and went up with a layup, but it was no good. However, much to the chagrin of Villanova fans, the two-time national champion was fouled in the act of shooting, meaning he had a chance to end this contest once and for all.
What no one across the country watching this matchup fathomed was possible happened: Karaban missed both free throws. This meant that Villanova held on for the win, 68-66.
Despite the rough day at the office Karaban had, Hurley sang the praises of the two-time national champion and offered him unique advice on how to overcome this setback.
“When he feels sad tonight, just get off the bus when we get back to campus and do what I did after Maui. Just pull your box of rings out and maybe play with your back-to-back national championship rings, and get ready for Georgetown,” the UConn head coach said.
While some may attribute this loss entirely to the Massachusetts native missing his free throws, this game does not rest on his shoulders alone. The defense was subpar; they never did the Huskies any favors. Hurley made this point abundantly clear after the dust had settled.
“We obviously fouled a little bit too much. But our defense isn’t right now good enough for us to not go down and have runs against us,” he said.
As bad as this loss may sting for UConn fans, it is not the end of the world and won’t blow their season up. Connecticut is still 4-1 in conference play, and this loss comes without McNeeley, who is an integral part of this squad. However, there is no exact timetable for his return. The Huskies will need to weather the storm that is Big East play without their star freshman. Next up for UConn will be a DC clash against the Georgetown Hoyas, which will take place this Saturday.