When the final buzzer rang during the Big East matchup of the Ucon Huskies and the Seton Hall Pirates, alarm bells started ringing in the mind of the Huskies’ fan base. The game was 55-48 with about 35 seconds to go in the second half before it was a Huskies implosion. Better yet, it seemed to take head coach Dan Hurley back to the drawing board to see what went wrong. One of the most humiliating losses of all time. They did make history, but not the way they hoped.

It does seem to be a head-scratcher for Hurley. 4 of their starters entered the double-digit points tally- with forward Alex Karaban recording 20 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists against the Pirates. Them going into OT in itself would’ve been seen as a scare even if they won. Still, they were 5 ahead going into the OT. Despite being listed as ‘questionable’ for the game, small forward Scotty Middleton nailed a put-back to win the game 69-68 in the dying moments of the game.

According to popular UConn podcaster Locked On UConn, this was a “collapse of the ages”– but he admits he should’ve seen this coming. The current champions aren’t even on course to be locked in for March Madness, according to Evan Miyakawa via X (formerly Twitter). Their current position of 4th doesn’t even justify their real quality- owing to the fact that they entered the season to be the second team after the UCLA Bruins’s 7-peat run under coach John Wooden to have achieved a 3-peat.

“I think it was our good friend Evan Miyakawa that posted like one of those emojis of like- oh what did we just witness, with them having a 98.9% chance of winning and then it completely going the wrong direction,” says Locked On UConn in his recent podcast. “That’s one of those- like I don’t have a lot of words for it. Hopefully, you guys come on and carry this show, because I don’t wanna talk about this that long- to be totally honest with you.” While aiming to achieve history- you better have the backbone to deal with the pressure, something the Huskies faithful thought they had till now.

Dan Hurley’s Huskies falling into a painful pattern

Is it the injuries? Is it the complacency? Or is it overconfidence that’s been hampering the Huskies from doing the unthinkable? Regardless of the root cause, it’s sure to have cost the Connecticut outfit matches in the late moments. Rope walkers say that it’s the last few inches of the rope that are the hardest to overcome- something apparent even in their games so far this season.

As for their Seton Hall loss, Dan Hurley isn’t taking any prisoners when it comes to feedback. This was the 4th year in a row they’ve lost to the Pirates- but this one stings more than ever. The New Jersey reps were coming off a 9-game losing streak, and this was the one where they seemed to turn their fortunes around. “I feel like in the end we got what we deserved. Credit Seton Hall, credit Shaheen. Should’ve won it in regulation, should’ve won it in overtime. Just did a lot of things that make you look like you’re a poorly coached team,” said Hurley in a post-match interview.

Team captain Alex Karaban acknowledged the responsibility of the players in the recent drop in form. “It’s a reflection of how seriously we take things as a team – I’m talking player-wise – us players don’t take every game seriously and don’t treat every game life-or-death the way that the coaching staff does. And it’s our fault. We just didn’t show up ready to play. We were soft the entire game, and it’s on us, it’s on us.” But while he talks it down to complacency, there are deeper issues that need resolving when it comes to Dan Hurley’s list of problems, by the looks of it. He needs to get the fans back on their side if they look to reclaim the throne.