In what opened to be a ‘hunger-driven’ UConn Huskies’ championship defending season, hiccups on the way have dragged down the show. After a good ‘top-3 team’ start to the campaign, the Maui Invitational run cost the Dan Hurley-led team heavily. Not only did it threaten to drop them off the top 25, but their 8-game winning streak hasn’t proven enough to build back the reputation. Now add injury trouble to that and you have got an analyst ranking UConn nowhere in the top as the season proceeds.

In the latest episode Locked on UConn podcast, host Mark Zanetto and guest Evan Miyakawa discussed the dire situation of UConn. Miyakawa, who is a reputed basketball analyst talks about the team being the 22nd best team in the country and that’s not just for the performance so far.

“I have UConn right now as the 22nd best team and that’s predicting how good they’re gonna be going forward, not just how good they’ve been so far,” he says. The Huskies only bounced back last game in their win against Georgetown (68-60), determined to avoid a repeat of another Maui Disaster after their loss to Villanova (68-66). The Wildcats had forced an ‘out of character’ Huskies play as they struggled with turnovers and three-point shooting.

Into the first half, the Alex Karaban-led team recorded 9 turnovers and was limited to 34.6% shooting from beyond the arc. They were also outrebounded while Karaban’s game-high 19-point performance proved futile. It was the Huskies’ first conference loss, dropping them 5 spots on the AP rankings. Miyakawa believes these losses have had a greater impact on UConn’s standings than their 13 wins so far.

“I think the thing is if you look at their wins and losses, their win quality is pretty good,” he continues. “They are top 20 in that category, but their loss quality is only 55th in the country, and I think the main reason for that is because you look at UConn’s four losses, those three you’ve had in Maui and on the road at Villanova, those three losses in Maui in particular have not aged very well.”

The 0-3 Maui Invitational run was enough to strip the Huskies off their top position. The Huskies had suffered only one non-conference loss in the past two seasons and in just three days at Maui, the streak was nothing short of a nightmare. Their worst came against Dayton when they lost by an 18-point margin, which was the most against a non-conference team since 2018. But adding to the predictions is also the fact that the Huskies will be without their freshman forward Liam Mcneeley.

The forward who was averaging 13.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game this season will be unavailable for the foreseeable future and is a huge miss for the Huskies.

Liam’s absence adds to Dan Hurley & Co.’s troubles

Hurley announced that Liam will be out for “weeks” after suffering a high-ankle sprain early January. This comes as a huge blow for the Huskies as Liam was an integral part of the team and their recent success. The forward has been one of the best freshmen in the country and is shooting nearly 38% from the three-point line and 43% from the field. He was named Big East Freshman of the Week thrice by mid-December after he had dropped a career-high 26 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

Karaban, the only player with 2 championship-winning experience, expressed admiration of the freshman, noting his maturity and confidence. “It’s unbelievable,” he had said. For Hurley, he is arguably the best freshman in the country. While Hurley & Co. have looked to replace him with Hassan Diarra and he delivered, McNeeley’s pick-and-roll ball handling and rebounding unlike anyone else on the team make him crucial for the team.

Aidan Mahaney as a ball handler struggled against Villanova while Diarra managed 11 points. No doubt the freshman is needed. But until he returns, the team has options open in Jayden Ross and Jaylin Stewart. They will need to stay afloat if Miyakawa’s prediction needs to be slashed. First on the list to overcome are the Creighton Bluejays as they make their way to the Huskies’ home court. UConn will be eager to carry the momentum from their victory over Georgetown. And with ESPN projecting a 75.3% chance of their triumph, anticipation is high.