Coming off their 68-62 home loss against St. John’s, the UConn men’s basketball team had their work cut out for them Tuesday night against the Creighton Bluejays. Not only are the Bluejays catching fire, coming into this contest on a nine-game win streak, but it was also $1 beer night at the Chi Health Center, which did not do the defending national champions any favors. However, these factors alone were not enough to stop Connecticut, as the program stunned a sold-out crowd in Omaha, winning 70-66.
A significant storyline heading into this contest was that Jaylin Stewart was slotted into the starting lineup as Hassan Diarra came off the bench with a knee ailment. The fifth-year guard has also played extended minutes as of late, considering that the program has been consistently short-handed. However, all UConn players, including Liam McNeeley, were good to go tonight.
The freshman forward set the tone for how his night would be early, swishing in a three on the program’s first possession and carrying the bulk of scoring early. Whether at the free throw line, in the paint or beyond the arc, McNeeley scored the program’s first nine points after the rest of the team struggled to get anything going in the first half.
A significant contributor lighting up the scoreboard as of late for Connecticut is Solo Ball, and the program needed his shooting desperately. However, the Creighton defense neutralized Ball early on, holding him to six points on 2-5 shooting, including 0-1 from deep. Similarly, Alex Karaban struggled to find his mark, finishing with four first-half points. To make matters worse for Connecticut, they were undisciplined defensively, getting into early foul trouble.
Typically, for the Huskies, Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed Jr. split a game at center for the program. This strategy works for Connecticut because when both big men are firing on all cylinders, it opens everything else up for the Huskies offensively. The pair also match up well against nearly all types of centers that teams will bring. Considering that the Huskies had a tall task, no pun intended, in matching up with Ryan Kalkbrenner, it hurt them when both Reed and Johnson sat on the bench for extended time due to their foul trouble. This led to an eventual 14-2 Creighton run. While Kalkbrenner wasn’t lighting up the scoreboard in this span, his presence allowed the Bluejays’ shooters to do some damage.
Jamiya Neal was the primary beneficiary of the UConn center’s absence. The senior guard scored 10 points on 4-7 shooting, including on a pair of threes. Steven Ashworth also got it going, finishing the first half with nine points thanks to excellent 7-7 free throw shooting. The pair’s offensive performance allowed Creighton to lead by as much as 14 points with three minutes left in the half. However, the Huskies immediately responded with a six-point run to close out the second half, trailing only eight at the break.
UConn again struggled to play defense without hacking the other team, so it took the Bluejays less than 10 minutes into the second half until they started shooting one-and-one free throws. Despite this early obstacle, the Creighton offense was no match for McNeeley.
The second half of this contest was the McNeeley show, and it was not even close. The freshman did everything right for the Huskies, leading the program to a 7-0 run and never looking back.
With 12 minutes left, McNeeley was the catalyst for yet another significant run. The freshman sunk a massive shot from beyond the arc, giving UConn their first lead all night, and immediately followed that up with another shot, this time a few steps in front of halfcourt. McNeeley quickly caught fire from all spots of the floor, scoring 23 second-half points on an absurd 7-10 from the field.
Karaban struggled offensively, scoring six points in the second half, including 0-6 from downtown. However, Karaban hit some key floaters down the stretch, which the Huskies needed. Despite this, he missed a crucial one-and-one free throw, reminiscent of the program’s Jan. 8th 68-66 loss at Villanova. Head Coach Dan Hurley noted that he believes Karaban is going through a mental funk and offered hope that he can get over it.
“What Alex [Karaban] is going through right now, it is obviously a major mental thing because he had some really good looks, but he also hit some key floaters,” Hurley noted.
While the Bluejays responded to McNeeley with some crucial threes, Karaban and the Huskies limited the damage that Kalkbrenner could do, holding him to nine second-half points and six rebounds. Karaban’s ability to deny the pass contributed immensely to the result of this contest.
Action ensued with a minute and a half left. Creighton had numerous opportunities to take the lead. Similarly, the Huskies had ample chances to build off their two-point lead. However, a lid on the rim led to some fouling late, and with less than 20 seconds left, Ball took to the free throw line. The sophomore guard made his first one-and-one free throw but missed the second, and Creighton had a chance to tie the game with a three.
The Bluejays immediately stormed down the court, looking to set up a three. However, McNeeley committed a smart personal foul with 6.9 seconds left. Neal missed his first free throw attempt. Then, after a quick timeout, he intentionally missed his second shot to try and get a three-pointer off. However, Karaban came up with the rebound and was fouled. With a chance to ice the game, Karaban came up just short, and again, Creighton had a chance to do some damage. After Creighton brought the game to within two, McNeeley put the contest on ice with a pair of free throws, giving UConn the win, 70-66.
McNeeley’s 38 points were not only a career-high for him but were also the most points scored by a UConn freshman since the 1986-1987 season. McNeeley also added 10 rebounds onto his night to complete the double-double.
Connecticut will return to action this Saturday on the road to take on the Seton Hall Pirates. This is yet another crucial matchup for the program as UConn looks to cut into the three-game lead that the Johnnies hold over them in the Big East standings.