UConn Basketball Defeats Georgetown: 3 Takeaways

UConn basketball bounced back against Georgetown 68-60.

UConn basketball responded how champions do following their heartbreaking loss at Villanova.

An improved Georgetown squad was hungry for a resume building win and UConn was able to handle business to avoid falling into a two game skid.

The final score was not indicative of how this game truly played out as UConn lead comfortably throughout the second half, building the lead to as much as 23 with just over 8 minutes remaining.

Georgetown never quit and was able to get some garbage time baskets while also forcing UConn into several terrible possessions to make the final margin much narrower than it probably should have been.

UConn basketball metric watchers were not happy with the conclusion of the game but a win is a win and UConn is able to walk away with another victory without star freshman Liam McNeeley.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Capital W for the Huskies 🔥@keybank pic.twitter.com/1eP5TTLgi8

— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) January 11, 2025

Takeaway #1: Alex Karabounces Back.

Alex Karaban returned this season to grow as a leader and prove he is capable of being “the guy” on a championship caliber team. Throughout this season he has proven he is more than capable of stepping into this roll.

This was tested following last game against Villanova as Karaban missed two free throws in the closing moments which would have potentially won the game.

This clearly has been wiped from his mind as he came back this game with an impressive performance. There were no shooting woes as he shot 7-10 from the field and finished with a team high 19 points.

UConn basketball fans should appreciate watching an all time college basketball great because players who stick with one program for three straight years is becoming harder to come by and Alex Karaban is trending towards having his number being the next up in the rafters.

Takeaway #2: Georgetown is a sleeping giant

Georgetown basketball has been a basement dweller in the Big East for a better part of a decade. Blow out losses and empty home arenas have plagued what was once a proud program.

The tides are finally beginning to turn and this was evident against the Huskies today. The Georgetown team of old would have folded and lost this game by 30.

Ed Cooley has started to attract more talent for a school in and around the recruiting gold mine that is the DMV and the rest of the Northeast. Players like Thomas Sorber, who is making a strong case to be the Big East Rookie of the Year, are needed to change cultures.

The Hoya’s concluded last season with only 9 victories and already have 12 this season. They were 3-1 in the conference coming into this matchup with UConn, and the only loss being a close defeat against an elite Marquette team.

The fans have begun to take notice and there is a buzz in the nation’s capital. Attendance today was over 17,000 which was the team’s largest in a home game since 2015.

This sleeping giant is ready to wake up and will be a problem in the Big East starting next season.

Takeaway #3: UConn needs to stop playing with their food

Over the past several victories, a concerning trend has emerged. The team appears to sleepwalk through the closing minutes, making several mental mistakes and not running their normal offense.

Too much dribbling and off-ball players standing still has resulted in late clock contested shots that don’t fall. These misses are essentially turnovers and allow opposing teams to have semi-transition offense to get open looks.

Case in point- what should have been a 25 point victory over DePaul turned into a 13 point win, what should have been a double figure win over Providence was reduced to just 3 points, and the most current 8 point win over Georgetown easily should have been a 20 point victory.

Coach Hurley has been vocal about this, stating on numerous occasions that this team is missing the killer instinct that his teams have had in prior seasons.

There are only so many times a team can get away with this before it comes back to bite them. A key goal for this team should be to compete with full intensity for an entire 40 minutes.

Next up for UConn (13-4): vs. Creighton (10-6) on Jan. 18 at Noon EST

Next up for Georgetown (12-4): at St. John’s (13-3) on Jan. 14 at 7:30 p.m. EST