How the 25-26 UConn Huskies Need to Respond After Struggles in the Big East
The UConn Huskies have found themselves in a bit of a slump after the last two weeks of Big East play. The 25-3 Huskies were riding an 18-game winning streak before falling to 22nd-ranked St. John’s on the road 81-72. The biggest problem for the Huskies is foul trouble and free throws. Foul trouble has always been a problem for UConn this year, as they find themselves in trouble early, needing to sit key players. One of their main stars, Tarris Reed Jr., finds himself in the most trouble. Averaging three fouls a game, Reed is seated early in hopes of keeping him for later in the game.
On February 18th, UConn fell short to a big second half from Creighton, giving the Huskies their third loss of the season. A big problem in this one was UConn star guard Solomon Ball picking up three fouls in the first half. This caused him to watch the game for most of the second half on the bench as Creighton started pulling away. With starters finding themselves in trouble early, the team is forced to look further down the roster for other players to step up. UConn is known for their depth, and it has shown with players such as Jayden Ross and Eric Reibe helping on the boards and on offense. However, the Huskies will need to clean up foul trouble if they want to find ways to close out games with their best players and keep them on the floor for as long as possible.
The other problem UConn needs to fix is their free throws. UConn struggled from behind the line in their most recent losses, shooting 41.7% against St. John’s and 61.1% against Creighton. The opposing teams in both these games shot better by about 25%, which helped them secure the victory. If the Huskies want to clean this up, they need to prepare for high-pressure free throws, as they will be seeing that down the stretch and into March. The simplest way the Huskies can keep putting W’s on the scoresheet is by cleaning up the foul trouble and knocking down those free throws. As for March Madness rankings, they are currently projecting a second-seed with three games left on the season. Their next one, though, is against Big East rival St. John’s. This game will be played at home in Hartford for the Huskies, but they will need all of Husky Nation to show up and cheer on their squad as they look to close out the season on a high note.
