The UConn men landed in Omaha to play Creighton, a traditionally tough opponent, in a traditionally tough place, still looking to do what has not been the norm this season, to win a game like this easily.
These Huskies have been as hard to define as all that. They are 20-1, they have won 16 in a row, they lead the Big East with a 10-0 record and are ranked second in the country, all of which aligns with the loftiest of expectations for the two-thirds mark of the regular season. The goal of a No.1 NCAA Tournament seed is well within reach.
Yeah, but … Yeah, but … Yeah but … so many of their wins have been close, too close for anyone involved to puff out their chest as February begins. As much as one leans to the Al Davis, “Just win, Baby” mentality, it’s not yet the time of year for survive-and-advance. Should there be joy? Excitement? Apprehension? Dread, even?
“Multiple things can be true,” coach Dan Hurley said Friday, in a call with state reporters. “As a coach and as a staff, for me in particular, it’s not looking at where you are but where you need to get to; the improvements the team has to make to play championship-level basketball. And we’re clearly not there.”
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Hurley was a little more positive in his remarks after the Huskies came from behind to outlast Villanova at PeoplesBank Arena a week ago, but after another close victory over a struggling Providence team at Gampel Tuesday night, he’s been talking again about that elusive “killer instinct” he has yet to see.
“The frustrating part, there are all these moments in these games where you have opportunities,” Hurley said, “where you have a game at eight, and when your team is really clicking on all cylinders you take it from eight to 12, from 12 to 17, and you kind of break the opponent. We’ve not been playing top-five-in-the-country level basketball.
“There is a will to win, winning 16 in a row, having all those great nonconference wins, our only blemish, playing without Tarris (Reed Jr.), without Braylon (Mullins) vs. the clear No.1 team in the country (Arizona in November), a game we had a real shot at getting.”
So despite the gaudy record and strength of schedule, the Huskies are No.8 in the NCAA’s NetRankings, with wins over Illinois, Florida, BYU and Kansas, all in the top 20, and No. 13 in Ken Pomeroy’s ratings, behind both Illinois and Florida.
“We’re not good at blowing out bad-to-average teams,” Hurley said, “but we’ve proven we can beat the best teams.”
Now the Huskies play at Creighton, a game that history suggests should be hard. Even the championship teams didn’t win in Omaha, but last year the Huskies broke through in large part due to a 38-point effort from Liam McNeeley. The Bluejays are in a rebuilding cycle now, 12-9, including 6-4 in the Big East, coming off a 24-point loss to Marquette, which suggests the old hostile environment fears should be less relevant. Hurley even dared to hope he will have an easier time getting from the court to the locker room without problems, since admitting in his book, “Don’t Stop,” that he was at fault in his behavior there in the past.
The positive development going into this game for UConn was the elevated productivity from the bench, especially Malachi Smith ands Eric Reibe, that helped in the latest escape vs. Providence. It’s not yet clear if Mullins, in concussion protocol since Jan. 24, will rejoin the rotation.
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But for a team that has been so hard to figure out, this will be another telling game. St. John’s, after a struggling in nonconference play, is right on UConn’s heels in the Big East with one loss, with both head-to-head matches looming in February.
Hurley is shifting gears.
“The mistake I’ve made is even comparing this team to 2023 or the 24 teams,” he said. “It’s a mistake. I shouldn’t ever be comparing this team to any teams that won the national championship. Going to the Final Four is hard, then winning two more games after getting to the Final Four is the ultimate. So I’m done comparing this team to ’23 or ’24, we have a lot of improving to do.
“I don’t want to lose sight of being 20-1, obviously the metrics are what the metrics are. We’ve dropped since the Providence game partially because the teams we’re beating don’t have great KenPom or Net ratings, so we’re getting nicked even when we’re winning hard conference games.”
Though UConn has not had long-term injuries, a succession of lesser ones has kept them from having all of their important components together for a period of time. That could change the eye test to something closer to expectations, putting players back in their intended roles. But regardless of who is out there, or when or where, the Huskies have shown an impressive will to survive, but a less-than-impressive will to dominate. And that’s the fine line on which they sit with 10 games left in the regular season, a fine line that separates a long ride in March Madness, or an abrupt, early exit.
Multiple things can be true, multiple March outcomes possible for this UConn team, a team so very hard to doubt, and yet hard to unconditionally believe in.
“Playing close games is eventually going to put us in a position to be comfortable in those situations,” Hurley said, “but you’re also playing with fire. … The team doesn’t have the ‘killer instinct.’ The Providence game, up 10 in the first half, the team with the killer in them, that blood-thirsty team, they stretch that lead to 18 going into halftime and create separation, demoralize the opponent and break their will.
“This team just hasn’t shown that ability to take it to the next level. We have the will to win, if this team was soft we wouldn’t win close games. The team has been very tough-minded, but we haven’t proven a killer instinct, a nastiness, but we have the will to win.”
