Columbus, OH – The University of Connecticut men’s basketball team has been challenged on and off the court this season as they look to a 2025 “threepeat.” Coach Dan Hurley and his Huskies have won two consecutive NCAA titles but their quest for college-hoop immortality is traveling a bumpy road.
“Pathological, sick, and obsessive,” remarked Hurley when discussing a three-peat last year. Yet, his star “big man,” Alex Karaban, told reporters that Hurley badly wants a third consecutive championship.
After embarrassing themselves in Hawaii’s Thanksgiving holiday tournament, UCONN returned home with little to be thankful for. After losing each game including an upset loss to the Dayton Flyers, Hurley claimed we shall not return to play in this tournament again. General Douglas MacArthur rolled over in his grave.
A little over a month later, star “Frosh,” Liam McNeeley went out with an ankle injury. A significant loss, he has been MIA for over a month hoping to return against the St. John’s Red Storm on Friday, Feb. 7, 2025.
Besides the on-the-court challenges, Hurley’s disdain of officials from the sidelines is becoming tiresome. During a Husky’s visit to Butler, Hurley provided an explicative laced discussion barking at a referee that he was the best “F*%$ing” coach in the NCAA.
The “best” NCAA coach barely escaped Indianapolis and the Butler Bulldogs that night with an overtime victory to avoid two consecutive losses. Phew!
The pressures of achieving greatness continued as the Huskies rolled into Milwaukee on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025. The NCAA champs shamefully ranked 25th in the latest NCAA poll, Hurley’s “fellas” took on the ninth-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles (2nd in the Big East) hoping for a signature win.
They delivered a big win behind star guard, Solo Ball’s performance as he registered 25 points for the Storr’s puppies.
Ball’s biggest shot was after Marquette ran back a double-digit deficit in the last few minutes of regulation. The Golden Eagles crowd of eighteen thousand-plus was reinvigorated and daunting. But Ball hit a jumper just under two minutes that took away the wind beneath the soaring Golden Eagle’s wings.
“Every time the ball leaves my hands, I feel like it’s going in,” Ball reported. “If I get a little bit of space, I’m going to make sure I shoot it. Because if I give it up, my coach will be super-mad at me.” The Huskies have learned to rely on Ball, Alex Karaban (15 points), and Samson Johnson (13 points) to create victories as McNeeley recovers.
This win certainly reminds the “bracketologists” that the Huskies have the talent and pedigree to win their third title in a row. Coupling this road win with a “W” at St. John’s next week may put the two-time champs back in the conversation to land a “number one or two seed.” March Madness brackets will be published in less than 43 days.
Hurley, the self-described “certified pain in the ass,” may be getting ready to pull the ladder out from his shed again in 2025.
