UConn Basketball Defeated By Creighton: 3 Takeaways

UConn basketball saw a 28-game home winning streak snapped in a 68-63 loss against Creighton.

What a game in this highly anticipated matchup in Storrs, as UConn basketball fell at home in a heavy weight fight against Creighton. The game was a back and forth affair throughout with neither team being able to fully separate.

Creighton held a narrow lead for a majority of the game and every time UConn made a run, Creighton would make timely plays, grabbing offensive rebounds and making timely buckets.

Creighton made just enough winning plays down the stretch to come away with one of the best wins a team has had in college basketball this season.

Overall this was a well-played game by both teams and every fan of college basketball should tune in to their rematch in Omaha on Feb. 11.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Final@keybank pic.twitter.com/YzyyTEI0oS

— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) January 18, 2025

Takeaway #1: UConn is lacking defensive tenacity

UConn basketball continues to struggle to execute defensive game plans and it’s costing the team games. This team has not played to the level the coaches expect. “I don’t think that Liam, when he returns, will be able to fix the lack of tenacity. We are a shell of ourselves right now defensively” Dan Hurley said postgame.

At this point of the season it does not seem that this is a problem that UConn can fix. Once you get settled into conference play, teams are who they are and UConn is just simply not an elite defensive team.

The team currently sits at 122^nd in KenPom defensive rankings. As elite as UConn basketball is on offense, it’s the defense that is the key to winning because defense is something teams can always rely on even when shots aren’t falling.

Takeaway #2: Creighton is a NCAA Tournament lock once again

What a win for the Creighton Bluejays. They have proved once again that they are a threat to make a deep NCAA Tournament run, winning in one of the hardest places for opponents to play in college basketball, ending UConn’s 28-game consecutive home winning streak.

Coach McDermott echoed the same sentiment postgame stating “that’s a great win for us…tremendous respect to Danny and the job that he does, anytime you get a win against UConn you’ve done a good job.”

Jamiya Neal came into the contest averaging 10.9 ppg for the Creighton Bluejays. He equaled that total in the first seven minutes of the game in a hostile Storrs atmosphere. He finished with a game high 24 points and if he keeps this up Creighton is going to be competing for the very top spot of the Big East.

Ryan Kalkbrenner was outstanding as usual, finishing with a double-double and altering several shots at the rim. Steven Ashworth helped close out the game with four clutch free throws.

Steven Ashworth continues to be one of the best guards in college basketball and is playing very similar to Tristen Newton by doing a little bit of everything. He finished the game with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 9 assists, something UConn was accustomed to seeing with Tristen Newton the previous 2 seasons.

Creighton now has conference wins over St. John’s, Villanova, and UConn as well as defeating Kansas in the non-conference and should feel really good about their chances to make the tournament once again. The Big East currently has four teams solidly in the tournament between UConn, Marquette, St. John’s, and now Creighton.

Takeaway #3: Jaylin Stewart is becoming more comfortable.

One of the lone bright spots for this UConn basketball team from this game is the growth of Jaylin Stewart. With the loss of Liam McNeeley, Stewart has seen extended playing time and looked way more confident against an excellent Creighton team.

He played 30 minutes, scoring 14 points on 6-9 shooting. He was in the game down the stretch, making a clutch floater in the closing minutes to keep UConn in the game.

And he also stepped up on defense in the second half to slow down a scorching hot Jamiya Neal which was a great halftime adjustment by UConn. Obviously this was not enough but UConn should feel more comfortable playing Stewart extensive time even when McNeeley returns.

Next up for UConn basketball (13-5): vs. Butler (8-10) on Jan. 21 at 7 p.m. EST

Next up for Creighton basketball (12-6): at DePaul (10-9) on Jan. 21 at 9 p.m. EST