UConn men’s basketball is in Omaha to take on Creighton tonight, riding a 16-game winning streak at 20-1 with 10 games left before the Big East Tournament. This is the two teams’ first meeting of the season; the Huskies will host the Bluejays on February 18 in Gampel Pavilion.
Greg McDermott’s squad is 12-9, ranked 64th in KenPom, and has already dropped four games in league play, including a blowout loss at Marquette on Tuesday night. Still, Creighton has taken down Villanova, Butler, Xavier, and Oregon, and we’ve witnessed the pattern of Big East opponents having great nights against the Huskies.
“In conference play, people know us well. It’s a lot more physical,” Dan Hurley said in a pre-game interview.
Creighton is 9-3 all-time against Hurley’s Huskies, with every meeting coming after UConn joined the league in 2020. UConn just got its first win at the CHI Health Center last season, thanks to a 38-point performance from Liam McNeeley. The Bluejays got the last laugh in a Big East Tournament rematch, prevailing 71-62 to advance to the final.
“They’ve been a top program,” Hurley said.
This year, five Bluejays are averaging 9.3 or more points per game, led by two big starting guards, 6-ft-5 Josh Dix (12.3) and 6-ft-4 Austin Swartz (11.9 PPG), and including reserve guard Blake Harper (9.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG), in addition to two other starters, Jasen Green (10.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG) and Nik Graves (9.6 PPG, 3.6 APG).
They’ve also dealt with injuries, including to center Owen Freeman, an Iowa transfer who was listed as questionable in the last two games and did not play. Isaac Traudt (7.2 PPG) has been starting in his place.
Analytically, UConn has clear advantages and some opportunities. For example, Creighton is one of the worst teams in the country at forcing turnovers and getting to the free-throw line, mediocre at rebounding, and weaker defensively than offensively. UConn has struggled to get to the line, dominate the boards, and avoid turnovers, and is stronger defensively. This would be a good day to thrive offensively, keep turnovers down, win the glass, and draw more fouls than their average.
After returning from an early-season ankle injury, Braylon Mullins missed another game due to a concussion suffered against Villanova early in the second half last Saturday. He left that game and did not play against Providence on Tuesday night, as Jaylin Stewart started. Hurley has indicated that Mullins is back in practice and making the trip with the team.
“He’s progressing through all the protocols, so he’s taken all the steps,” Hurley said. “We’ll see how he does on the flight, on the overnight.”
Malachi Smith and Eric Reibe were the heroes of Tuesday’s win, combining for 26 points off the bench to capture the season sweep over PC.
Tarris Reed Jr. finished with 19 points while dealing with foul trouble, while Solo Ball added 17 despite going 5-of-18 from the field. Alex Karaban’s shots weren’t falling, and neither were Ball’s, but the Huskies still managed to come out on top.
“We’ve struggled with shotmaking,” Hurley said, even though “we’re getting a lot of the same types of shots that we’ve been getting…at the rim and from the perimeter.”
Against Providence, a team that is 9-13 and just got rocked by Villanova, the Huskies led by as much as 10 in the first half but let the Friars hang around and could not put them away at any point in the second half. Their defense remains sharp, but offensively, they struggled for stretches.
“The mistake I’ve made is even comparing this team to ‘23 or ‘24, I shouldn’t be comparing this team to any team that won a national championship,” Hurley said. “I don’t want to lose sight of being 20-1, obviously the metrics are what they are, we’ve dropped since the Providence game, so we’re getting nicked even when we’re winning.”
As he keeps looking for that “killer instinct” from his team, Hurley notes, “We’re not good at blowing out good to average teams, but we’ve proven that we can beat the best teams.”
Hurley emphasized a need to activate their reserves, from Smith and Reibe to Stewart and Jayden Ross.
“We gotta get Jaylin and Jayden going…The strength of the team is the depth,” Hurley said. “Would love to see Solo heat up, Braylon healthy, and get the bench back to being a real asset.”
It is worth clarifying that the lack of killer instinct does not mean this team is lacking in toughness or quality, according to its head coach.
“We have the will to win. I don’t think that the team is soft. If this team was soft, we wouldn’t win close games,” Hurley explained. “For us, primarily our issues at times have been free throw shooting, at times it's been turnovers, at times it's been offensive rebounding. We’re probably not the most athletic team in terms of getting out in transition, [which] puts a lot of pressure on our shotmaking and half-court offense.”
Tip-off is at 8 p.m. on FOX. After this, the Huskies host Xavier on Tuesday night before a big matchup against St. John’s at MSG on Friday, Feb. 6.
