A dream finish to the Huskies' first season back in the Big East wasn't meant to be as UConn fell to second-seeded Creighton on Friday in the conference tournament semifinals.
“Our guys are crushed, that was a tough one,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said after his team's 59-56 loss to the Blue Jays.
With the win, Creighton (20-7) advances to play Georgetown (12-12) on Saturday in the Big East Tournament final.
James Bouknight led the Huskies (15-7) with 14 points and eight rebounds while Isaiah Whaley and Adama Sanogo added 13 apiece.
“This was brutal, we had a great chance to advance and play for a championship against a team that we've played well against,” Hurley said.
After a Bouknight layup and foul shot put the Huskies up 51-48 with 6:08 remaining, UConn failed to make another field goal and let the lead slip away.
They also played the final 4:30 without R.J. Cole, who left after a hard fall to the floor drew blood above his left eye. UConn led 53-50 when Cole when down and looked out of sorts without their sure-handed guard.
“He got stitched up and will go through the concussion protocol,” Hurley said.
With the loss, the Huskies now have to wait until Sunday to find out where they will be seeded in the NCAA Tournament.
WHAT WENT WELL
Hot Start: UConn came out swinging on the way to a 13-2 lead with eight points from Sanogo. The Huskies made 6 of 9 shots over the stretch, and if fans had been allowed inside Madison Square Garden, it would have been rocking on a Friday night in March.
Hurley: “We are playing really well. Today we lost a one-possession game to a team that’s Big East championship-caliber and a Sweet-16-level team and they are a hair better than us. The group is devastated, it was hard to get through the postgame in there. What a difference a couple years makes with the emotions in the locker room after a conference tournament loss.”
Back In the Groove: The Huskies fell short in their conference title quest but they have clearly created a bright future. Bouknight is a future NBA first-round pick and the Huskies’ program is back on the college basketball map after a few lean years. Now they need to carry that goodwill into the NCAA Tournament.
Hurley: “That pride feels like it’s back, and we have to clean a couple things up, but we’re excited about next week. We feel like we can play with anybody and potentially beat anybody.”
WHAT NEEDS WORK
Fizzling Out: It’s been an issue all season, and despite two straight 90-plus point games, the Huskies still have a problem with prolonged offensive lulls. The final 6:07 without a field goal wasn’t the only red flag. UConn went another six-plus minute stretch before that with just one field goal and shot just 28.6 percent in the second half (8-for-28).
Hurley: “They played great defense. Obviously, if you watched the game it was a defensive struggle. It was a very intense game and baskets were at a premium.”
Back to Basics: The Huskies pride themselves on playing defense and pounding the glass. While their defense held Creighton to 59 points on 37.1 percent shooting, they lost the rebounding battle 50-33 and gave up 17 offensive boards to the Bluejays. They have only allowed 40-plus rebounds to an opponent twice this season and both have come against Creighton.
Hurley: “Our calling card all year has been our defense and our rebounding. The difference in the game was the 17 offensive rebounds we gave up.”
NOTES
UConn and Georgetown are tied for the Big East Tournament championship lead with seven titles apiece. ...Creighton will play for its first Big East Tournament title on Saturday.
