No. 11 UConn is still searching for a “killer instinct” as it opens the new year Wednesday with a Big East Conference contest against DePaul in Chicago.
Coach Dan Hurley said the two-time defending national champion Huskies (10-3, 2-0 Big East) need to get better at closing out games.
“Last year’s team, when we would get a game to 14, you’d blink and it would be 22. Last year we’d get the game to 11 and it would get to 18,” he said. “This team, right now we don’t have that killer instinct yet and just our quality’s not quite there, yet.”
Well-rested UConn brings a six-game winning streak to DePaul (9-4, 0-2), with four of those victories coming by six or fewer points.
Huskies point guard Hassan Diarra has 48 assists and 10 turnovers during the current streak, including seven dimes in a 78-74 victory at Butler in their most recent game on Dec. 21.
“He’s a guy with big-time guts and confidence,” Hurley said. “You look at him in the huddle as a teammate, and you believe you’re out there with General Hassan and that we’re gonna find a way to win.”
Alex Karaban leads the Huskies with 16.5 points per game, with Liam McNeeley (13.9), Solo Ball (12.5) and Tarris Reed Jr. (11.5) also scoring in double figures. Reed also averages a team-high 8.2 rebounds.
DePaul rolled past visiting Loyola Maryland 84-65 on Saturday to close a promising non-conference schedule. The Blue Demons went 9-2 outside the Big East, paced by strong frontcourt play from Jacob Meyer (14.5 points per game) and Isaiah Rivera (11.4).
An overtime conference loss to Providence and a lopsided defeat at St. John’s were spread over the past three weeks, stretching DePaul’s Big East regular-season losing streak to 34 games. The last time the Blue Demons won a conference game in the regular season was Jan. 18, 2023.
“We just all really want to win,” DePaul’s NJ Benson said. “I feel like where people see us in our league kind of puts a chip on all of our shoulders; we want to do the best we can (to) finish at the top.”
To first-year coach Chris Holtmann, the challenge within the obstacle of moving past multiple seasons of struggles in the Big East lies in staying in the present.
“We can be consumed with that as coaches, players and certainly fans, because they want it so badly,” Holtmann said. “I want it so badly for my (athletic director), but it’s really my job to focus on how to solve some of these issues that we need to get better at and keep our guys focused on getting better and growing.”
UConn swept DePaul last season, prevailing by 29 points at home and 36 on the road to improve to 19-1 in the all-time series.
The Blue Demons are seeking their first victory against the Huskies since Jan. 31, 2007.
