Rapid Recap: UConn falls again in Maui
UConn men’s basketball turned in another disappointing performance as the Huskies shockingly leave Maui with a last-place finish, a 4-3 overall record, and a lot of questions to answer going forward. This was perhaps the worst loss of the three days, as Dayton led for nearly 36 minutes en route to an 85-67 victory in the tournament's final game.
The Huskies' offensive performance was rocky in the early going until Tarris Reed entered the game and Alex Karaban got going. Karaban’s stat line was the lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal night in which lackluster defense and rebounding led to a Husky loss.
Dayton was finding buckets and getting to the line early as it jumped out to a quick lead. UConn briefly pulled ahead as the defense made a few stops and Karaban caught fire from three. He was up to 14 points after hitting four from behind the arc to put UConn up 27-25. But the Flyers kept responding, regaining the lead and making a late surge to take a 41-34 advantage into the break.
Hassan Diarra started the second half motivated, scoring seven points in the first 3:14 and hitting a three to tie the game. Dayton responded once again. The Flyers kept a solid rebounding margin throughout as they prevented the Huskies from finding any rhythm.
Karaban finished with 21 but nobody else was making plays consistently for UConn. Samson Johnson, Solo Ball, and Diarra finished in double figures but Reed only logged 14 minutes as the five starters logged 25 or more minutes each. To make matters worse, Liam McNeeley finished 0-for-9 from the field on the night and Diarra was scoreless in the first half.
Next up, the Huskies are in Hartford for a game that is not too far away, on Saturday evening against the University of Maryland - Eastern Shore. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. in the XL Center and the game will be televised on Peacock.
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