In what was meant to be a season driven by Dan Hurley and his Huskies’ fierce determination to win the championship three years in a row, hiccups along the way have dragged down the show. The grueling Big East matchups took a heavy toll on Dan Hurley’s squad. While the period of losses was short-lived, it definitely displayed its weaknesses on a platform to the entire college basketball world.

Despite making an impressive comeback and winning 8 of the last 10 games, their close wins and two losses to Villanova and Creighton have put them in the spotlight. And it is not good. Although back-to-back champions, the Huskies stand at the third spot in the Big East conference as they chase their third consecutive National Championship.

Journalist Jeff Goodman talked on the Field of 68: After Dark podcast and discussed the issues for UConn. He said, “I just don’t think they are nearly as talented (as compared to the previous two teams) and they don’t have a guy named Donovan Clingan to erase things.” This addresses Hurley’s claims about his team not defending well enough and not having a guy like Clingan certainly affected their defense a lot this year.

One thing is certain, this year’s UConn team doesn’t have the star power of their previous squads. Gone are the days of Donovan Clingan anchoring the defense and Stephon Castle orchestrating plays for the Huskies. Both standouts are now making waves in the NBA after being snatched up in the first round of the draft, leaving the Huskies to find a new identity without their former cornerstones. To make matters worse for them freshman forward Liam McNeeley is also out injured.

Goodman further talks about the Huskies not having a star this season, saying, “They don’t have a star, Alex Karaban was hurt today, even when he’s healthy he’s not a guy you just give the ball to say hey go make a play.”

He continues, “Solo Ball can do that at times, Jaylin Stewart has been very inconsistent this season.” Good heaped huge praises for Hassan Diarra. The senior guard has impressed the critics with his plays this season averaging 9.2 points, 6.6 assists, and 3.1 rebounds per game. “I think Diarra has done an incredible job way better than I thought as a point guard this year.”

Goodman proceeds to talk about how big of a miss McNeeley has been for the Huskies, who has been ruled out for a few weeks with a high ankle sprain. “They miss Mcneeley, let’s face it, like Liam McNeeley takes them to a different level because he’s the guy who just kind of does everything well.”

He continues talking about the chances of the Huskies this season, “Even with a healthy Liam McNeeley, I still don’t think they are a final-four team… I think they win this game (vs Creighton) with a healthy Liam Mcneeley, they’re a good team, they are not what they have been the last two years and that’s fine.” 

With analysts pretty confident about UConn not being a top-four team this season, is there time for Dan Hurley to change things from here on?

What’s next for Dan Hurley’s UConn?

Coach Dan Hurley isn’t sure when junior forward Alex Karaban will be back with the squad. Karaban is the only player remaining from the team that won two back-to-back championships and will certainly be a big miss for them. In the post-game press conference, Hurley provided a vague update about the forward’s injury “First of all on Alex. I don’t have any real information about what his ankle is gonna look like.”

This means coach Hurley will have to find a replacement for Karaban, and will also be without forward Liam McNeeley when they host the Butler Bulldogs on the 22nd of January, ESPN predicts an 88.9% chance of a victory for the Huskies who will be looking to get back to winning after their shocking loss to Creighton.

Dan Hurley has his work cut out for him. With injuries mounting and the team not performing defensively as a unit. The pressure is mounting on the coach to change things and make them better and get them competing again if they aim to defend their championship.

Only time will tell if the Huskies can get the job done for the third successive time. Nothing will please Dan Hurley more than making journalists and analysts who have been looking down on the Huskies eat their words at the end of the season. That is still a big task and a lot of work needs to be done to achieve that! Stay tuned for more updates regarding the Huskies!