Dan Hurley blames lack of "attention to detail" and "will" for UConn's inability to guard Jamiya Neal in Creighton upset

UConn Huskies coach Dan Hurley is distraught following his team's 68-63 Big East upset loss to the unranked Creighton Bluejays on Saturday. The Huskies, aiming for a three-peat this season, now hold a 13-5 overall record for the 2024-25 season.

During the loss, the Huskies let fourth-year Creighton guard Jamiya Neal score a career-high 24 points on an efficient 10-for-16 shooting while playing all 40 minutes.

Hurley was unhappy with the outcome, discussing postgame what he felt like his Huskies lacked that led to Neal's career night.

"Poor one-on-defense," he said (Timestamp 2:45). "You're putting a lot of your attention into (Steven) Ashworth and (Ryan) Kalkbrenner. We've seen Neal do this, Villanova at home, when he went off and had this type of a game."

"How we just let him kept getting his right hand, how you let a dominant righty driver and a guy that loves to go right, just continue to drive the ball right ... It's a lack of attention to detail and will," Hurley added.

Key cogs such as Solo Ball and Hassan Diarra are tasked with guarding the perimeter for the Huskies. They posted respectable stat lines in the defeat, scoring 15 points apiece (with Diarra adding six rebounds and seven assists).

Dan Hurley still believes in his team to win but urges more focus

For a squad hoping to make a return to the NCAA national tournament, a 5-2 Big East record while being the No. 14-ranked program in the nation so far won't make things easy. But Dan Hurley still believes in his team — he just hopes they can exert more effort.

"They are great guys in there. They're awesome on campus, on the airplanes and in the restaurants, which is great, that's how you want to be," he said.

"But, when you take the court, (a) switch has to flip and you have to become a maniacal, ruthless, relentless warrior competitor, life or death urgency, to rebound the ball and win loose balls." (4:10 mark)

Dan Hurley and the rest of the Huskies will have another chance to try and contain their opponents' best players on Tuesday, Jan. 21, when they host the Butler Bulldogs