By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)
HARTFORD, Conn. — It wouldn’t be a UConn game in 2025 without something unusual happening.
Nothing seems to be out of the question after the events that transpired in Newark on Saturday, sequences that saw the Huskies blow a seven-point lead with under 40 seconds remaining on the way to an overtime loss to 6-18 Seton Hall.
Things were looking very similar on Tuesday, minus the blowing the lead part, as Dan Hurley’s bunch never built a lead larger than 2-0 before finding itself down 14 at the under-12 timeout in the second half. Naturally, the Huskies would bounce back and continue what’s been a roller coaster month of February with a 66-59 win over Villanova to avoid dropping two games in a row to unranked opponents.
“When we get a team down by 14 in here, we have them right where we want them,” Hurley joked in regards to Huskies’ fourth victory at home this season trailing by at least that number.
There’s a lot to unpack from what some may consider a surprising turnaround for the reigning champs, so here’s three takeaways from UConn’s win over Villanova:
Defense stepped up late
The one knock on UConn all season long has been on defense. Usually a Hurley speciality, this year’s Huskies team had been ranked outside the Top 100 in defensive efficiency on KenPom for a majority of the season. The defense deployed in the second half against the Wildcats was some of the best this season, forcing tough shots and turnovers with some full-court pressure.
“Our defense today was really good, maybe the best it’s been all season against some really good players,” Hassan Diarra said. “We need to bottle that up for the next few games.”
Around the nine-minute mark in the second half, Jaylin Stewart checked in for the first time since he played just 57 seconds before the break and was tasked with being the disruptor in the press. His length and presence made the Villanova ball handlers uncomfortable, which forced errant passes and giveaways.
“We were down by double digits and needed to create some energy,” Diarra said. “You want to stay aggressive the whole game, especially on the defensive end.”
All in all, the Huskies outscored the Wildcats 27-6 over the final 11:58, the exact moment the visitors took their largest lead of the night. Tarris Reed, Jr. took responsibility of handling Eric Dixon and limited the nation’s leading scorer to just five points in the second half.
“I just went out and said, ‘yo, I’m just gonna play hard,’” Reed said. Whatever happens, I’m just gonna play as hard as I can and try to make an impact on the glass. Overall, just playing hard and having that next possession mindset.”
Liam McNeeley
The freshman has found his footing since coming back from a high ankle sprain that sidelined him for over a month. After having a 38-point outburst on the road at Creighton a week ago, McNeeley scored 20 points in the win over Villanova, including 16 in the second half.
“It was a do-or-die situation. You have to be desperate,” McNeeley said. “We have to play with desperation and that’s what we did in those last 12 minutes. We need to play like that all game, every game, the rest of the season.”
McNeeley was one of the key pieces to the comeback, erasing what was a poor first half both for himself and the team. He hit a timely three to make it a one-possession game for the first time all second half at 55-52, and stepped it up on the defensive end during that stretch of full-court pressure.
“He wasn’t playing well up until the point when we were down 12 or 14, but when he turned it up, we turned it around and won by seven,” Hurley said. “He has more pressure on him than any freshman in the country when it comes to him needing to do well for us to win.”
McNeeley also hit some clutch free throws, including the foul shots that put the Huskies back in front for the final time. In the second half, he connected on a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe and showed great poise both getting to and converting at the line.
“I love shooting free throws,” McNeeley said.
Depth is still an issue
One thing Hurley has stressed all year is the lack of depth that this year’s team has compared to years past in the program. Aidan Mahaney and Jayden Ross are two players in particular that both Hurley and the fan base expect more from in these big games, but it seems neither seem to show up more often than not.
“The difference between this year’s team and prior teams is that we were just so deep,” Hurley said. “We could practice so hard and so sharp, but now we have to back off with Liam’s injury, Hassan’s injury and Alex (Karaban)’s minutes.”
On Tuesday, Mahaney played a season-low two minutes and Ross a season-low three minutes. Ahmad Nowell, who has seen little action when healthy this season, played the second half backup guard minutes while both Mahaney and Ross watched from the bench. Neither of them played again after halftime. Despite this, there is still belief that a turnaround may be coming.
“I think guys are starting to gain some confidence,” Diarra said. “We need them to step up.”
The Huskies are back in action Sunday when they travel to Madison Square Garden for a clash with 10th-ranked St. John’s looking for another signature win to add to their resume late in the regular season.
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