UConn basketball gets their first ever win in Omaha, beating Creighton 70-66.
For the first time in nearly two seasons UConn basketball is unranked in the AP Poll while Creighton regained a spot in the AP Poll for the first time since earlier this season in November.
The Huskies may have had a chip on their shoulder from losing their ranking, but they didn’t show it as they got off to a slow start. It was Liam McNeeley versus Creighton for the opening stretch of the game as McNeeley scored the first 9 points for UConn and had 15 points in the first half.
Jamiya Neal led the way for the Bluejays in the first half with 10 points and 5 rebounds including a highlight dunk as Creighton’s lead grew to as much as 14 points.
The second half was more of Liam versus Creighton as the Huskies could not find a second scorer to complement Liam’s incredible performance. McNeeley completely took over the basketball game including 8 points in just 50 seconds of game time to give UConn basketball their first lead of the game.
Creighton did their best to keep the game close by taking advantage of Ryan Kalkbrenner’s matchup advantage, but they had a hard time making any other jump shots making just 30% from the field in the second half.
Ultimately, it was UConn basketball that held on to win thanks to a historic performance from freshman Liam McNeeley.
Absolute cinema 🍿🔥 pic.twitter.com/hE7ItkUYkE
— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) February 12, 2025
Takeaway #1: Thank you Liam
Wow. This was an all-time Husky performance never mind from a freshman. Liam finished the game with 38 points on 12 for 22 shooting and 10 rebounds to make it a double-double. Liam returned from an ankle injury on Friday against St. John’s with limited minutes and the leash was clearly taken off in his return to the starting lineup.
In a game where no Huskies were able to get shots to fall, Liam put the team on his back. The rest of the team shot 31% from the floor and 1 for 16 from three while Liam shot 55% from the floor and 5 for 10 from three. The freshman approached every offensive possession with so much confidence which only grew throughout the game as shots continued to fall.
This performance won’t just be talked about around the Big East or Division I, it will be talked about in a lot of NBA front offices as the marquee performance for the future NBA lottery pick. Husky fans were hoping that Liam’s return from injury would give them a much needed alpha on the court, but no one expected to see anything of this caliber in the star’s first game back in the starting lineup.
Liam McNeeley is the first Husky freshman in the 21st century to score 30 points in a game
— Step Back Cardiac Review (@CardiacCTReview) February 12, 2025
Takeaway #2: Tough loss for Creighton
While the Bluejays still hold the edge in their all-time series against UConn basketball, this first home loss especially stings when you factor in the big picture. Creighton is currently trying to hunt down St. John’s for the Big East regular season title and entered this contest with a one game deficit. They now sit two games back with an opportunity to close the gap this weekend as they travel to MSG for the second leg of their season series with the Red Storm.
In this contest against UConn, it was the lack of a standout performance that lost the game. Both Steven Ashworth and Ryan Kalkbrenner finished with 13 points and Jamiya Neal added 12 points of his own. Neither of those players was able to score down the stretch as the Bluejays didn’t make a field goal in the final 3:30 of the game.
Takeaway #3: Where is Alex Karaban?
Over the duration of Liam McNeeley’s injury absence, multiple players have risen up including Solo Ball and Jaylin Stewart, but Alex Karaban has seriously regressed in the same time span. Over the last 7 games Alex is averaging 10.2 points per game and is shooting 4 for 37 from three which is just under 11%.
In this contest, Karaban went 0 for 7 from deep and got three of those attempts in a single possession following multiple offensive rebounds and kick outs to him. Alex Karaban has still been playing a lot of minutes and not letting this shooting slump negate the impact that he can make on the game from other avenues including strong rebounding and defense.
Over his college career, Alex has hit big time shots on the game’s biggest stages so it’s only a matter of time before he figures things out. This team desperately needs him to get out of this slump if they want to make a run in March.
Next up for UConn basketball (17-7, 9-4): at Seton Hall (6-18, 1-12) – Feb. 15 at 2:30 p.m. EST
Next up for Creighton (18-7, 11-3): at St. John’s (21-3, 12-1) – Feb. 16 at 3 p.m. EST