NEW YORK — He tapped the rebound to himself and absorbed a foul with 20.4 seconds remaining, setting in movement the lengthy, celebratory stroll from one finish of Madison Sq. Backyard to the opposite as an appreciative fan base acknowledged the job was almost full. All that separated No. 18 UConn from a 3rd consecutive victory over a high-major opponent — having already upended then-No. 15 Baylor and Texas earlier this week — have been two free throws from true freshman Liam McNeeley, a budding star for head coach Dan Hurley and the Huskies’ shining protagonist on an evening when the court docket shimmered with future execs. He buried the primary and drilled the second to protect his group’s 77-71 win over eighth-ranked Gonzaga and stabilize a marketing campaign that briefly teetered.
“He was nice tonight,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few stated when requested about McNeeley. “He actually, actually was. And hear, UConn is — god, they simply have the center of a champion, man. Danny [Hurley] form of brings that out of them. We knew it was going to be a bodily fist combat, mainly, and I assumed we have been as much as that activity. They only made a pair extra of these baskets.”
A lot of which have been credited to McNeeley, the previous five-star recruit and one-time Indiana commit who poured in a career-high 26 factors on the brightest stage of his younger profession, igniting an overwhelmingly pro-UConn crowd on an evening when a few of his extra skilled teammates struggled. That the Huskies turned so steadily to McNeeley, a baby-faced teenager who scored 11 of his group’s ultimate 24 factors, in such a raucous and high-pressure atmosphere mirrored the long-term potential Hurley sees for his group, which is chasing a 3rd consecutive nationwide title. To see him anchor the offense by making seven of 13 photographs from the sector and hitting 10 of 12 makes an attempt from the free-throw line — all whereas snagging eight rebounds and dispensing 4 assists via pick-and-roll alternatives — encapsulated the form of wide-ranging affect usually reserved for upperclassmen.
And the Huskies wanted every part McNeeley gave them to offset the heinous taking pictures of main scorer Alex Karaban, who missed all seven of his makes an attempt from past the arc; the concussion to beginning heart Samson Johnson, who had “began that sport in simply electrifying trend,” as Hurley described it, with an alley-oop on the opening possession and a one-handed lefty jam shortly thereafter; and the foul bother for influence sophomore Solo Ball, who failed to succeed in double-figure scoring for the primary time all season.
“His efficiency tonight ought to shoot him to the highest of any of those lists I see of one of the best freshmen within the nation,” Hurley stated, “as a result of he is doing it at each ends. He is doing it on the backboard. He isn’t [relying on] quantity scoring. And there is a lot stress on him as a result of he is our second-best participant subsequent to Alex.”
A few of that stress got here from the legions of UConn supporters who streamed via Grand Central Terminal within the hours earlier than tipoff, flooding into the town on Metro-North Railroad vehicles sweltering from the physique warmth of standing-room-only crowds — chunks of which have been bedecked in vacation garb for SantaCon NYC. For many years, Connecticut residents have made these semi-annual pilgrimages to high-profile video games at Madison Sq. Backyard, be that for the Huge East Match in early March or marquee regular-season matchups, like Saturday night time’s Corridor of Fame Sequence in opposition to Gonzaga. So frequent are the Huskies’ appearances and triumphs on this storied constructing that the fan base has dubbed it “Storrs South” in reference to the college’s campus in Storrs, Connecticut. Final yr’s group, which completed 37-3 total and captured this system’s second consecutive nationwide championship, gained all seven occasions it performed at MSG by a mean of 14.3 factors per sport.
On Saturday, a call-and-response chant echoed via the practice station’s underbelly as followers poured into Manhattan: “UConn!” somebody screamed. “Huskies!” these round him shouted again. And on and on it went. The sector hummed with related expectations as Connecticut welcomed Gonzaga into the liquored-up fray. Almost 19,000 followers, lots of whom had clearly been imbibing for hours by the point they reached the world, reworked the venue into what felt like a UConn residence sport. They booed when the Bulldogs jogged onto the court docket for ultimate warmups at 7:41 p.m., forcing the general public tackle announcer to shout over them for the visiting introduction. They booed once more when a pregame video celebrated Gonzaga’s pedigree below legendary head coach Mark Few, who has been on the helm since 1999. However when the digital camera panned to UConn’s gamers and coaches linked arm in arm throughout an electrical rendition of the nationwide anthem, the group roared with delight.
“It was like a prize combat,” Few stated.
And that was precisely the form of backing Hurley pleaded for after his group’s beautiful losses on the Maui Invitational, the place the Huskies arrived ranked second within the nation and have been swiftly felled by Memphis, Colorado and Dayton on consecutive days. Upon returning to Connecticut, Hurley used his postgame information convention following a 99-45 thumping of Maryland Japanese Shore to request “grace and persistence and simply unimaginable help” from UConn followers who’d come to anticipate near-perfection amid back-to-back nationwide titles suffering from lopsided outcomes. The usual Hurley and his employees have been holding the gamers to hadn’t modified — the Huskies are nonetheless chasing a three-peat — however dropping two stars to the NBA lottery in Stephon Citadel (No. 4 total) and Donovan Clingan (No. 7 total), plus two extra veterans who earned two-way contracts in Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton, meant it will take the Huskies some time to reconfigure.
However because the supporting solid propelled UConn to a fourth consecutive victory on Saturday, the progress Hurley is making grew to become more and more clear. There have been essential contributions from sophomores Jaylin Stewart (two 3-pointers) and Jayden Ross (two assists, one rebound, one steal). There have been crucial minutes from Michigan switch Tarris Reed Jr., whose 12 factors have been buttressed by six rebounds and three blocks. And there was the revelatory brilliance of McNeeley, the No. 18 total participant within the 2024 recruiting cycle, whose 4 free throws and acrobatic layup within the waning minutes nudged Connecticut forward for good.
Which is why it felt so apropos that Saturday’s sport ended the way in which it did: with McNeeley dribbling out the ultimate few seconds of a win he’d largely fueled.
“I had by no means performed within the Mecca earlier than,” McNeeley stated. “But it surely was a fantastic, nice first expertise.”
Michael Cohen covers school soccer and basketball for FOX Sports activities with an emphasis on the Huge Ten. Observe him at @Michael_Cohen13.
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