The Huskies had numerous chances to win the game in the final minute but came up empty.
UConn men’s basketball’s eight-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday night as the Huskies lost at Villanova’s Finneran Pavilion, 68-66.
Both teams played extremely tough defense to start, as possessions routinely came down to the last few seconds of the shot clock. UConn started to open up the offense with their transition game, pushing the pace and grabbing a few buckets on the break.
Jaylin Stewart started in place of Liam McNeely (ankle) and had one of his best outings in a Husky uniform. The sophomore started off with 10 quick points, hitting two threes and playing physical defense on Dixon. Stewart’s length seemed to really bother the All-Big East power forward, despite sacrificing almost 40 pounds. Dixon was forced into tough contested jump shots and deep threes, starting 1-8 from the field.
UConn, however, was largely unable to take advantage of Dixon’s quiet half, turning the ball over nine times in the first 20 minutes which led to 10 Villanova points. The Huskies were showcasing great ball movement, assisting on all ten of their first-half field goals, but only shot 3-12 from downtown and were held to two offensive boards. It was closely contested through the first half until a late run pushed the Wildcats up seven at the break.
Dixon got going early in the second half, helping Villanova stretch the lead to double digits.
But then UConn roared back. Alex Karaban hit his first three at the 13:30 mark of the second, which sparked some offense for the Huskies. Hasan Diarra hit a three from the exact same spot 20 seconds later and Solo Ball connected on a long ball as well, cutting the lead to one.
The Wildcats kept their lead due to UConn falling victim to their persistent fouling issues, but the Huskies finally took it back after Ball splashed in two more three-balls.
After a Jhamir Brickus pull-up jumper that put Villanova up six with only two minutes to go, the Huskies were in desperate need of a score to keep them in the game. They got one from their leader Alex Karaban, who nailed a three from the wing to give the Huskies some life. After a stop on the defensive end and a beautiful assist from Ball to Stewart, UConn was right back in it, down by only a point.
The Huskies had countless chances to win the game in the last minute but came up short on all of their attempts. The possession arrow and some ball deflection luck gave UConn four straight possessions at the end but they could not cash in. The best chance came on Alex Karaban’s hard drive to the tin with three seconds left, drawing a foul on Jordan Longino. UConn’s top scorer missed both attempts from the line, sealing the victory for the Wildcats.
Solo Ball led the team in scoring with 16 points (4-10 from three), as Hassan Diarra flirted with a double-double, putting up 11 points and nine assists. UConn held Eric Dixon, the nation’s leading scorer, to 6-20 from the field. Senior guard and Philly native Wooga Popular hit some tough shots and ended with 18 points to help the Wildcats earn a hard-fought victory.
The Huskies have another tough test ahead, traveling to Washington, D.C. to take on the Georgetown Hoyas, who have been better than expected this season. That game tips off at 2 p.m. ET this Saturday and will air on FOX.