After beating Marquette, the Huskies had a real shot at solidifying themselves as contenders. Then they fell to St. John’s, and the criticism came flooding back twice as hard. But with a win over Creighton, UConn fans suddenly have a lot more optimism about this team’s ceiling. Now, as they prepare to take on Seton Hall, they must win, and Dan Hurley knows exactly what his squad of 13 must do to keep their three-peat dreams alive.

Hurley isn’t just focused on X’s and O’s; he’s preaching focus. And in today’s world that means tuning out the noise. “We preach to our players, you’ve got to live in the real world. Get off your phone, social media is not the real world. Engagement farming media is not the real world. Just stay locked in on your preparation. Unfortunately, people react hysterically.”

And he’s not wrong. Social media, the $251 billion industry (per business research company) could impact big, especially in a sport as passionate as college basketball. One day, a player is a superstar. The next, they’re getting roasted for a bad game. It can mess with a young athlete’s head, and Hurley is making sure his players don’t fall into that trap.

He also added, “If you play great like Liam just did, he’s the greatest player in the country. If he plays bad tomorrow, he’s gonna get criticized. It’s the world that we’re all in.”

But when you drop 38 points in a comeback win, no one’s slandering. In just his second game back from a high ankle sprain that sidelined him for five weeks, he went off. He shot 12-for-22 from the field, single-handedly matching the total output of Creighton’s three top scorers. The reigning back-to-back national champs found themselves down 14 late in the first half, but thanks to McNeeley’s heroics, they clawed their way to a 70-66 win.

However, at one moment the opponents tied the game 65-65 with two minutes left, but UConn captain Alex Karaban stepped up, hitting a clutch floater to put them ahead for good. Now, it’s all about keeping the momentum going.

Dan Hurley & Co. must win the next game vs. Seton Hall

UConn has no time to celebrate. On Saturday, they head to Newark to face Seton Hall. While the Pirates are struggling and are dead last in the Big East, the team has been a problem for UConn in the past.

The Huskies are 5-4 against them in the Hurley era but just 1-3 in Newark. They’ve lost three straight there. But this time, they have to snag this one.

As the coach put it himself, “For us, it can we create some momentum here in February. With everything this team has had to deal with during the course of the season, basically from Thanksgiving on: tough losses, bad health. Now, hopefully, we’re going to get healthier and start to play as well as we can in February and March.”

That health issue is still a factor. Hassan Diarra, dealing with a nagging knee injury, is feeling better and might be available Saturday, but minutes could be limited. Freshman Ahmad Nowell, who’s been out with an ankle injury, is healthy but hasn’t played recently.

Additionally, while it might seem early to talk about Big East seeding, if UConn wins, and St. John’s loses to Creighton on Sunday, the Huskies will be just one game behind in the loss column. Securing the top seed for the Big East tournament (March 12-15, MSG) would be huge. Let’s see if they can make it happen.