It hasn’t been all about enjoying the sun and hitting the water in trips to Paradise with UConn and St. John’s among the teams on the wrong end of Big East upsets. While the Red Storm lost twice in games played in the Bahamas, the big news was UConn’s 17-game winning streak ending with a loss to Memphis.
The challenging matchups will help the Big East teams once conference play begins. There are more difficult games coming up. Providence is playing in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Creighton and Xavier are among the teams playing in tournaments in the United States.
Hurley’s Outburst Factors Into One of the Big East Upsets
UConn began the season by rolling past four overmatched opponents. The Huskies knew that the degree of difficulty would increase when they headed to Hawaii.
It wasn’t all bad news for Big East teams with Xavier topping South Carolina 75-66 in the Fort Myers Tip-Off Tournament. Zach Freemantle had 16 points and nine rebounds as Xavier improved to 6-0.
UConn Falls In Maui Invitational Overtime Classic
Dan Hurley‘s intensity has played a factor in UConn winning back-to-back national championships. He will complain to referees about pretty much every borderline call. There is always a risk of the UConn head coach going too far and getting whistled for a technical foul. That happened in Monday’s overtime loss to Memphis.
UConn had erased a double-digit deficit in the second half with Liam McNeeley and Solo Ball hitting clutch shots down the stretch. UConn took the lead in overtime but couldn’t hold off Memphis in the Huskies’ first game in the Maui Invitational.
The turning point was when McNeeley was called for a foul going after an offensive rebound in a tie game. Rather than UConn having a two-point lead with 40 seconds left in overtime, PJ Carter headed to the line for a pair of free throws. Hurley protested the call and was called for a technical foul. Carter made four consecutive free throws.
UConn got back within two points but couldn’t complete the comeback. Hassan Diarra hit the first of two foul shots. He missed the second and got the rebound. However, his heave was no good as Memphis won 99-97.
“That was a joke,” Hurley said after UConn’s first loss of the season. “I just watched it. They’re physical at the defensive end, and then at the offensive end they initiate a lot of contact and they were getting whistles early on in the game.
Dan Hurley's thoughts on today's officiating:
"I had a lot of issues with what went on. That over-the-back call… there was a Memphis player that made a half-ass effort, Liam McNeeley high-pointed the rebound, and for that call to be made… was a complete joke. I may have lost… pic.twitter.com/w5AxFsZF5d
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) November 25, 2024
“That over-the-back call at that point of the game, there was no attempt to block out. For that call to be made at that point of the game was a complete joke. I might have lost my balance by the absurdity of the call or maybe I tripped. But if I made that call at that moment I would have ignored the fact that I was on my back, if I made that call. I would have ignored that.”
Reserves Deliver For UConn
It wasn’t all bad news for UConn. Tarris Reed Jr. led the Huskies with 22 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Reserves Jaylin Stewart and Diarra combined for 28 points.
Three UConn starters were called for two fouls in the first half. That resulted in the reserves getting early calls and having strong games.
Alex Karaban led UConn’s starters with 19 points and six assists in 43 minutes. No other starter played more than 31 minutes. Monday’s loss hasn’t impacted UConn’s place as the favorite to win the Big East title.
St. John’s Returns Home After Suffering A Big East Upset
St. John’s lost its Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship opener when favored Baylor hit a buzzer-beater in a wild double-overtime game. The Red Storm bounced back with an impressive 80-55 win over Virginia. RJ Luis Jr. had 18 points. Deivon Smith flirted with a triple-double as he had 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
The Red Storm remained in the Bahamas to face Georgia. St. John’s was favored by six points against Georgia. The Red Storm lost 66-63 despite 22 points and eight rebounds from Zuby Eliofor.
This is not the first rodeo for St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino. He isn’t happy returning to New York with two losses in three games. However, he knows that lessons learned could be helpful down the road.
“As long as we play hard, I’m not going to judge where we are now,” Pitino told the media after the Georgia loss. “I’m going to judge where we’re at the end. As long as we play hard, fight, try to win games, I think we’ll be OK.”
"The Georgia Bulldogs are gonna steal it from No. 22 St. John's!"@UGABasketball with a big win over a ranked opponent 🔥 pic.twitter.com/wGk1DJa6Gk
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) November 24, 2024
“We’re certainly not a great team, but we’re a pretty good team. Georgia beat us by just making shots when we didn’t make shots in a close game.”
