Liam McNeeley powers UConn men’s basketball to 70-66 win over Creighton

The star freshman set a program record with 38 points to secure the Huskies’ first win in Omaha.

UConn men’s basketball dialed up a double-dose of history Tuesday night, beating the No. 24 Creighton Bluejays 70-66. It’s the Huskies’ first-ever win in Omaha, and they did it thanks to a precocious freshman etching himself in the program’s illustrious record books.

Liam McNeeley set UConn’s freshman scoring record with 38 points, an honor previously held by Richard Hamilton, who scored 31 points twice.

The 6-foot-7 freshman out of Richardson, Texas did it while also grabbing 10 rebounds and playing outstanding defense on Steven Ashworth. It’s up there with one of the best individual UConn performances ever. The Huskies fought back from a 14-point first half deficit, battled through Hassan Diarra’s knee injury, and overcame another rough shooting night from Alex Karaban.

Ryan Kalkbrenner, battling the flu, was held in check with only 13 points. The Huskies finally got some 3-point shooting luck on defense, with Steven Ashworth turning in his worst shooting performance of the year, going 0-5 from three. UConn improves to 17-7 overall and 9-4 in the Big East.

McNeeley returned Back to the starting lineup for a hobbled Diarra, the star freshman scored UConn’s first nine points. Despite several stalled out sets, the Huskies hung around because Creighton was equally as atrocious offensively.

“[McNeeley] is so difficult in the paint when they get him on switches, so we have to tighten that up and figure out when to do it and when not to,” Creighton head coach Doug McDermott told Evan Washburn at a timeout.

UConn’s frontcourt depth was tested with Tarris Reed Jr. and Samson Johnson both getting whistled for two quick ones, and Creighton got into the bonus at 9:44. It went from bad to worse with Reed getting a third foul soon after, perpetuating a 14-2 run from the Bluejays.

The Huskies steadied themselves to enter the half only down eight, weighed down by a clunky halfcourt offense and that brutal Creighton kill-shot. Despite only hitting one three Ball and McNeeley relied on a steady diet of midrange amid Kalkbrenner’s deep drop coverage.

UConn came out aggressive to start the final 20 minutes, going right at Kalkbrenner and rattling off a 13-0 run from the first half. The sets looked crisper, the screens sound, and the overall activity ramped up, but Reed and Johnson both picked up their fourth foul five minutes into the half. After some truly absurd sequences; a missed Ashworth free throw, three bricked Karaban threes on one possession, and a highlight reel Ball block at the rim, McNeeley announced himself to college basketball.

Two-straight knockdown treys from the future lottery pick suddenly had UConn up five and full of swagger.

After a frenetic 13-1 run, fatigue set in for both teams amid a whistle-less five minutes, the Huskies battled in a small ball lineup even as the under 12 timeout crept into 7:39. With UConn up as much as eight, Creighton answered back, as anyone outside of McNeeley continued to be ice cold from three. McNeeley was a man possessed, going at Kalkbrenner with reckless abandon and abusing Jamiya Neal.

Tied at 65-65 with 2:26 left, executing in the halfcourt down the stretch would decide this game. Karaban converted a midrange floater to go up two, but with a chance to really ice it, Jasen Green was able to knock the ball out from Johnson’s hands and flip the possession.

A quick Ashworth launch rimmed out, and it became the dreaded fouling game with a heavy dose of reviews and lovely monitor staring. Ball missed his second free throw to only put UConn up three, but McNeeley smartly fouled with 6.9 seconds left, nice.

Creighton intentionally missed its second free throw to try to grab the offensive rebound, but Karaban snared it. The snake-bit junior missed his free throw though, sending Creighton back to the line to run the same play back.

Who else but McNeeley ended up with the rebound, hit his freebies, and sealed the deal to cap off his 38-point night.

The victory marks UConn’s first win in five tries on the road against Creighton. It’s ceiling-changing win for this weird, weird season. The Huskies showed tremendous grit fighting injuries, a tough whistle, and rowdy crowd. The McNeeley Masterpiece will be a delightful YouTube watch five years from now when he’s at the NBA All-Star game with Stephon Castle and Donovan Clingan.

McThreeley season is here, and it couldn’t come at a better time, with Karaban seeing ghosts and Ball clearly effected by the wrist injury to his non-shooting hand (0-4 from three). With some improved health going forward, the Huskies look ready to defend their title(s) in March.