It seems clear that this team really needs opponents that catch their full attention. We can talk about playing for a share of the regular season title, road game environments, etc, but they just play far too many close games against teams that just aren't very good. Then you watch them play against the big time opponents on their schedule and it is totally different. Mind boggling really.
This team is simply not what many of us think they are or need them to be despite the potential and they put fear in no one. Our opponents view UCONN as completely vulnerable. We need to accept this reality as we know what high level, elite championship basketball looks like.
The roster construction is flawed and the bench is inconsistent. Mid season this team plateaued and has hit a wall. It's the lack of consistent execution on several small items that is stopping this team from being great and they haven't figured it out yet. Hurley has talked about these items constantly over the last 4 to 6 weeks. Their weaknesses have been exploited consistently and that is what good opposing coaches are supposed to do until you do something about it.
When the 3 ball is not going down you have to be able to quickly pivot to the mid-range and inside game to generate free throws and this is accomplished with elite PG play. Reed was under utilized once again despite is good start to the game.
Mullins takes too many three point shots and often shoots them too early in the shot clock. If he is going to be given the green light then he needs to hit these at a higher clip. His game is multi-dimensional
Bottom line is that your best players have to step up when it counts and in the biggest moments. It didn't happen today for this team after a week being off and they lost on the road to a 19 loss team with the Big East Regular Season title on the line. St, Johns has now won the Big East Regular season title consecutively.
I'm afraid there is no magic switch for this team. The NCAA tourney is about match ups, heart, coaching and Dogs that are ready to embrace the moment. It takes more than raw talent.
As with every loss, we learned something about the 2025 version of our beloved Huskies today. Expectations of this team should be tempered at this point. They've shown us who they are after 31 games.
If we are going to win the BET and NCAA tournament this year, it will be as an underdog where we've thrived historically. A reset was necessary. Go Huskies!