This year has not been kind to the defending champions. UConn, a team that seemed invincible last season, is now sitting in an unfamiliar fourth place in the Big East, having already lost eight games. For context, they lost just three games all of last year. The Huskies are stumbling, struggling to find any rhythm, and plagued by inconsistencies on both ends of the floor. And amidst all that, Dan Hurley has a rather strange wish for his team’s locker room.

“I’d love to walk into a locker room and have to break up a fight between two players that are pissed off because that guy maybe didn’t play hard enough,” the head coach admitted. “I’m probably disappointed that I haven’t walked into more frustrated, angry locker rooms for us.”

Well, the guy just wants to see some fire. He wants his team to be mad, to care enough about their performances that they’re willing to hold each other accountable. And honestly? He’s got a point. If this UConn squad has any hopes of making history with a three-peat, they need to bring some real energy because whatever they’re doing right now clearly isn’t cutting it.

The Huskies fell to 17-8 on the season, dropping to 9-5 in Big East play after a brutal loss to a struggling Seton Hall squad that came into the game at 7-18. Yes, the reigning champs just lost to a team that hadn’t won in nine straight games. 

If that doesn’t set off alarm bells, I don’t know what will.

Saturday’s game was a disaster. UConn had just come off a huge road win against Creighton, which by the way, also brought just hate for the Huskies HC. But the team looked poised to build on that momentum. Instead, Seton Hall had other plans. The Pirates snatched a stunning 69-68 win in overtime thanks to a last-second putback from Scotty Middleton. 

Hurley, understandably, was livid. At one point during a timeout, he was caught on camera calling this game UConn’s “Super Bowl” and ripping into his team. 

And why wouldn’t he? 

Dan Hurley and the Huskies’ “collapse of the ages”

Despite holding a 55-48 lead with just 35 seconds left in regulation, UConn somehow let it slip. It was an absolute collapse—one that UConn podcaster ‘Locked On UConn’ called “a collapse of the ages.” He even admitted he should’ve seen it coming. That’s how bad it’s gotten.

The most frustrating part has to be that UConn didn’t even play that poorly—at least on an individual level. Four of their starters hit double-digit points, with Alex Karaban dropping 20 points, six rebounds, and two assists. But even with all that, they still found a way to blow it. 

Also, the bigger issue here isn’t just one loss, it’s the pattern. Hurley himself acknowledged that this was the fourth straight year they’ve lost to Seton Hall, but this one feels different. This time, it’s exposing some serious cracks in the foundation. 

It’s mostly the late-game moments where they keep falling apart. They’ve let multiple games slip away in crunch time, and it’s costing them more than just wins. Their seeding for March Madness is in jeopardy, and at this rate, they’re not even a lock for the tournament. 

So, what now? If UConn wants to stay in the hunt for history, they need to get back on track. Fast. Up next, they face Villanova, and after that, a rematch with St. John’s. If they don’t show some serious fight in those games, Hurley might just get his wish—a frustrated, angry locker room.  

But at that point, it might be too little, too late.