As March Madness looms just overhead, all teams are gearing up for the showdown for the next three weeks with one aim, the Division I national championships. Some dying to add another to their kitty, while a few targeting their first, and then there’s the UConn Huskies aiming to defend the cup once again, to make it three in a row. But then the roads are never easy. “I don’t think I’ll ever do a three-game MTE again,” Dan Hurley said, shaking his head. UConn fans remember the Maui Invitational all too well—and not too fondly. Although a gauntlet of losing all three games, the Maui Invitational served as a reality check for the defending champs. The team was sent searching for answers, clearly overmatched against elite competition. Now coming to the season’s last stretch, they rebounded out of Maui, but have they?

UConn was last season’s No. 1 overall seed in the East Region. One year later, the Huskies’ tournament resume isn’t nearly as rosy. Currently 3rd in the seed, even Friday’s result went against their tide. But what happened to them in that Big East semifinal matchup against Creighton? A calamity. Yet another infuriating loss and even more ammunition for the contrarian argument that this isn’t a three-peat-worthy team.

Analyst John Fanta did not mince words on the Field of 68: After Dark podcast. While discussing Dan Hurley’s team’s outlook for March Madness, he bluntly pointed to Alex Karaban’s struggles.

“They kept Alex Karaban under wraps. I mean, Karaban struggled all night; he could not find it. He was 3 of 10 from the floor and had 6 points. I’m sorry, Connecticut’s not winning a first-round NCAA Tournament game if Alex Karaban is going 3 for 10 from the floor.” And he’s not wrong. Karaban has been a rock for UConn all year, leaning into his leadership role and consistently playing quality basketball. But when he isn’t, everyone feels it.

His inconsistency has been a storyline for a while now. There was the time he botched not one, not two, but three straight wide-open threes on the same trip down the floor—one fan quipped it “almost turned me into the Joker.” And of course, who could forget that Villanova game in January when his missed free throws came back to haunt UConn big time?

But, to his great credit, Karaban himself realizes he wasn’t playing his best basketball. “For a month or so I didn’t play my best basketball, and to be playing great basketball right now in March is what’s important. I’m glad I’ve been able to find myself.” He hugely found himself in the second half of UConn’s Big East Tournament win over Villanova, scoring 15 of his 18 points and nailing three huge three-pointers.

He’s settled into the go-to role for UConn late in games, leading the team in points, rebounds, and assists in multiple games this year. Karaban’s average this season is 14.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists while playing 35.7 minutes. If UConn wants to make a run at it, they need him at his best.

Is Alex Karaban not performing the only issue for Dan Hurley?

No, it isn’t just Karaban, either. The greater concern to emerge from the Creighton game was a greater flaw in UConn’s game: its defense. Creighton shot 75% in the first half from the field and Jasen Green put up a career-high 19 points.

Dan Hurley didn’t sugarcoat it following the defeat: “It’s hard to fix your defense at this point of the year … And there was just so many individual one-on-one battles lost. I mean just inability to guard the ball.” It’s a story that has stayed true for the Huskies throughout the season. Fighting to get stops on defense, committing too many fouls, and allowing opponents to score easy points at the line. It was the same on Friday evening against Creighton. Too many fouls. Not enough stops.

Hurley put it bluntly post-game: “The team that finishes third isn’t worthy of playing for a title.” The Huskies took third place in the Big East, and it is perhaps slowly dawning on them.

So the major question is pretty simple: Will UConn answer these questions before March Madness, or is this increasingly looking like a potentially short run for Dan Hurley and the Huskies again? Time is running out to find those answers, and at the moment, the panic is real.