A fatal flaw by UConn basketball that will cost them the Big East title race

UConn’s the three-peat bid dropped at the start of the 2025 NCAA Tournamentbut Dan Hurley has put his team back in position to start the train again in 2026. However, despite what their record indicates, the Huskies’ season has been full of ups and downs, leaving them in a tough spot with the Big East Tournament on deck.

UConn has surprisingly struggled in Big East play since rejoining the conference in 2020. They’ve won just one regular-season title and one conference tournament championship, far fewer than their overall record suggests.

While the Big East Tournament is not UConn’s primary goal, a team as dominant as the Huskies in the regular season should be more successful in the postseason. Fortunately, Hurley’s team is on track for its best finish since the 2023-2024 season, when it last won the conference tournament and national championship.

With just two losses in its first 25 games, UConn is quietly having its best season in Hurley’s eight-year tenure, and one of the best in the history of the basketball program. On paper, they are level with the field in the Big East, and St. John’s is their only postseason threat.

But aside from the score, UConn hasn’t been as dominant as it has been in years past. The Huskies won nearly half of their conference games by single digits, including two overtime wins as double-digit favorites. Considering the disappointing state of the Big East conference in 2025-2026, these results do not mimic that of a future national champion.

UConn has a well-rounded roster and continues to bring victoriesno matter what they look like. Still, if Hurley wants his second Big Ten Tournament title in three years, the Huskies have a lot to offer inside.

UConn hasn’t evolved since November

Despite the poor results in the Big East, UConn boasts one of the most impressive resumes in the country on paper. Only a handful of other teams have more wins against top-25 opponents.

UConn is impressive 6-2 against Quad 1 opponents overall, according to the NET Rankings, but almost all of those wins came early in the season. While still undeniably impressive, the veteran Huskies benefited from facing younger foes at that point in the calendar. Hurley’s team hasn’t changed much since November, while Illinois, Florida, Kansas and BIU are each fundamentally different from the teams they were three months ago.

The Huskies were fortunate to catch the Gators and Illini early in the season, before either team formed. Keaton Wagler, who has been one of the top scorers in the country since mid-January, scored just three points in a neutral-site game at Madison Square Garden in just his eighth career basketball game. UConn wouldn’t be lucky enough to catch the same break if it faced Illinois a second time.

UConn also caught BIU and Kansas early, before star freshmen AJ Dibantsa and Darrin Peterson got under them. Dibanca still scored 25 points in his fourth basketball game, but UConn caught Kansas without Peterson.

Both BIU and Kansas, now fully accustomed to playing around their star freshmen, are completely different teams, while UConn hasn’t changed much in the three months since.

UConn’s stagnant progress has shown itself in Big East play, where it continues to sneak away big wins over subpar opponents. After rolling to a 4-0 conference record, six of the Huskies’ last nine wins have come by 10 points or less.

Big East foes are catching up to UConn’s game, a problem that will only increase tenfold when the postseason begins.

UConn can struggle to defend against teams with size

UConn has size on its roster, led by returning forwards Alex Karaban and Taris Reed Jr. Karaban and Reid lead the offense with the Huskies 44th in the country in points in the paint and 68th in opponent points in the paint, according to CBB analytics.

The season-long numbers are great, but they come with a caveat. UConn hasn’t faced a big man all season; none of his Big East foes hold a candle to the physicality the Huskies will face in the postseason.

UConn owns huge Quad 1 wins over Florida, Illinois, BIU and Kansas, but has struggled to deal with the physicality of each team. Reed, the Huskies’ most physical frontcourt player, got into foul trouble against Florida and Illinois, nearly costing them both games.

Fouling has been a problem for Reed all season. The senior has three or more fouls in 12 of his first 20 games in 2025-26, often forcing Dan Hurley to turn to his shallow bench sooner and more often than he would like.

Aside from Reed, four of UConn’s top five scorers do their best work from the perimeter. That lack of physicality led to just eight free throw attempts against Kansas, 17 against Illinois, 16 against Florida and 12 in the recent loss at St. John’s. They won three of those games, but it’s extremely difficult to win games in March with fewer than 20 charity trips.