Dan Hurley called for Gampel Pavilion to be a “mad house” after a disappointing showing from his home crowd against Georgetown on Saturday.
While Hurley got the live environment he was hoping for, it was not enough, as No. 5 UConn suffered its second conference loss of the season to Creighton, 91-84.
“The fans were everything you’d hoped that they could be,” Hurley said. “It just sucks to let them down.”
The Huskies (24-3, 14-2) fell to the Blue Jays (14-13, 8-8) at their on-campus venue for the second year in a row. UConn has never pulled off a regular season sweep over Creighton.
The Blue Jays did not shy away from the raucous crowd. Creighton exposed the Huskies’ defense on the wing and consistently got downhill to the basket. The Blue Jays shot 47.6% from three with 10 makes from beyond the arc.
Josh Dix and Nik Graves led the scoring effort with 19 and 18 apiece. Head coach Greg McDermott called it a “perfect game” from his offense.
The Huskies’ four worst games in defensive efficiency this year have occurred over their last five. Wednesday night was the most points they have allowed in regulation since 2019 against St. Joseph’s.
“It was a game of just really bad individual defense,” Hurley said. “Creighton just went at us from a one-on-one standpoint.”
UConn’s undoing came during a nine-minute stretch in the second half where the team made just two shots on 16 attempts. The lull allowed Creighton to turn a four-point deficit into a 10-point lead with 41 seconds left in the game.
“I think we got to be better when we’re up keeping the lead and extending the lead,” Silas Demary Jr. said. “I think sometimes we get complacent instead of just putting the team away.”
One of the Huskies’ biggest struggles this season has been fouling. Solo Ball got into foul trouble in the first half which kept him from finding a rhythm, after finishing with twenty in each of his past two games. Creighton made 27 free throws to the Huskies’ 11.
Braylon Mullins had Gampel Pavilion in a frenzy. The five-star freshman laced his first triple of the night just before halftime to tie the game 45-45. He picked up right where he left off after the break with another three pointer to take the first lead of the second half.
Mullins continued to unleash a barrage of three pointers, each generating a louder pop than the last. He scored a career high 25 points.
“After I made two in the second half, they were just calling my number and just trying to get me more opportunities,” Mullins said.
Tarris Reed Jr. was unstoppable in the first half, missing just one of his seven attempts from the field. Creighton was able to shut him down in the second half. Reed was held to just two points after halftime, totaling 15 on the game.
Hurley has recently challenged his bench to step up and earn its minutes. The Huskies’ second unit is averaging just over 13 points per game since the start of conference play.
Malachi Smith got the crowd on its feet in the first half. He buried a three to tie the game with 09:22 to play in the first half after Jayden Ross snapped a pass to the corner. Smith found Reed in the paint on the next possession, who finished through contact to take the lead and force Creighton to call a timeout.
UConn’s bench posted 15 points in the first half. Ross and Eric Reibe each contributed six points to the effort before the break. The reserves could not replicate that success in the second half, going scoreless.
UConn will get back on the road this weekend when it takes on Villanova. The Huskies previously survived an overtimefinish with the Wildcats in January at PeoplesBank Arena.
That game tips off at 5:30 p.m. and will be available on truTV and TNT.
Let’s go SJU.