Michael Cohen
Writer of College Football and College Football
NEW YORK – He held his own and made a foul catch with 20.4 seconds left, beginning the long and sweet journey from one end of Madison Square Garden to the other as grateful fans realized the job was coming to an end. All that separated the number 18 Conn from a third consecutive victory over a superior opponent – having already promoted the No. 15 Baylor and Texas earlier this week – it was two free throws from true freshman Liam McNeeley, the rising star of head coach Dan Hurley and the shining character of the Huskies on a night when the court was shining with future professionals. He buried the first and drilled the second to preserve his team’s 77-71 victory over eighth-ranked Gonzaga and to stop a campaign that has already ended for a while.
“He was great tonight,” Gonzaga head coach Mark Few said when asked about McNeeley. “He really was. And listen, UConn’s a god, they just got the heart of a warrior, man. Danny [Hurley] kind of take that out of them. We knew it was going to be a physical fight, and I thought we were up to the task. They just made a few more baskets.”
Many of them credited McNeeley, a former five-star and one-time Indiana commit who scored 26 points in the highlight reel of his young career, wowing a big UConn crowd on a night when some of his more experienced teammates struggled. That the Huskies consistently turned to McNeeley, a junior against the kid who scored 11 of his team’s final 24 points, in such a tough and stressful environment showed the long-term strength Hurley sees in his team, which is chasing third. consecutive national title. Seeing him fuel the offense by making seven of 13 shots from the field and hitting 10 of 12 attempts from the free-throw line — all while grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out four assists on pick-and-roll opportunities — embodies the kind of wide-ranging influence usually reserved for elite players.
And the Huskies needed everything McNeeley gave them to stop the shooting of leading scorer Alex Karaban, who missed all seven of his attempts from beyond the arc; the clash started with center Samson Johnson, who had “started the game off in an electric way,” as Hurley described it, with an alley-oop in the opener and a one-handed left jam soon after; and foul trouble for second baseman Solo Ball, who failed to reach double figures for the first time all season.
“His game tonight should put him high on any list I see of the best players in the country,” Hurley said, “because he does it on both sides. He does it on the backboard. He’s not. [relying on] volume goals. And there is a lot of pressure on him because he is our second player next to Alex.”
Some of that pressure came from the hordes of UConn fans who flocked to Grand Central Terminal in the hours before tipoff, pouring into town on Metro-North Railroad cars sweltering from the body heat of the standing-room-only crowd — some of which were decked out in SantaCon NYC holiday attire. For decades, Connecticut residents have made the annual pilgrimage to high-profile games at Madison Square Garden, whether it’s the Big East Tournament in early March or regular-season matchups, such as the Hall of Fame Series. Saturday night against Gonzaga. Huskies appearances and victories are so common in this storied building that fans call it “Storrs South” in reference to the university’s campus in Storrs, Connecticut. Last year’s team, which finished 37-3 overall and captured the program’s second straight title, won all seven of its games at MSG by an average of 14.3 points per game.
On Saturday, a call-and-response chant echoed beneath the train station as fans poured into Manhattan: “Conn!” someone shouted. “Huskies!” those around him shouted in response. It went on and on. The field echoed with similar expectations as Connecticut welcomed Gonzaga to the brewery tournament. Nearly 19,000 fans, many of whom had clearly been running for hours by the time they arrived at the stadium, turned the venue into what felt like a UConn home game. He screamed as the Bulldogs ran onto the court for the final warm-up at 7:41 p.m., forcing the public address announcer to shout about it during his introduction. They were also shocked when the pregame video celebrated Gonzaga’s pedigree under head coach Mark Few, who has been at the helm since 1999. the crowd roared with joy.
“It was like fighting for prizes,” said several.
And that was the kind of support Hurley pleaded for after his team’s stunning loss at the Maui Invitational, where the Huskies finished second in the nation and were quickly swept by Memphis, Colorado and Dayton in consecutive days. Upon his return to Connecticut, Hurley used his postgame news conference following the 99-45 drubbing of Maryland Eastern Shore to ask for “grace and patience and incredible support” from UConn fans who would expect near perfection amid a back-and-forth. national qualifications are full of negative results. The quality of Hurley and his staff has been holding players unchanged – the Huskies are still chasing a three-peat – but they lost two stars in the NBA lottery in Stephon Castle (No. 4 overall) and Donovan Clingan (No. 7 overall), and two other veterans receiving two-way contracts in Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton, meant it would take the Huskies a little while to adjust.
But as the supporting cast propelled UConn to its fourth straight victory Saturday, the progress Hurley has made became more apparent. There were key contributions from sophomores Jaylin Stewart (two 3-pointers) and Jayden Ross (two assists, one rebound, one steal). There were serious minutes from Michigan transfer Tarris Reed Jr., whose 12 points were bolstered by six rebounds and three blocks. And there was the brilliance revealed by McNeeley, the No. 18 overall pick in the 2024 recruiting cycle, whose four free throws and acrobatic combinations in waning minutes propelled Connecticut forward.
That’s why it felt good that Saturday’s game ended the way it did: McNeeley pulling out the final seconds of the win he was so passionate about.
“I had never played in Mecca before,” McNeeley said. “But it was a good first experience.”
Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him on @Michael_Cohen13.
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