"I'll bring more fire to the sidelines": Dan Hurley gets real on preventing UConn from becoming a "soft" team

Dan Hurley and No. 14 UConn Huskies' dream of winning a three-peat national championship took a hit on Saturday with a 68-63 loss to Creighton. The defeat snapped UConn's 28-game home winning streak at Gampel Pavilion.

During the postgame press conference, Hurley didn't mince words when expressing his displeasure with the state of his team.

"We’re just a good team," Hurley said (2:23 onwards). "We’re a good top-20, top-25 team, but this current version of us — the defense and rebounding — is nothing like we’ve been.

"Maybe I'll dial my intensity up even more in practice, I’ll bring more fire to the sidelines. I just think the team doesn't reflect who we've been. We haven't been able to turn these talented nice guys into fierce, savage competitors.

"But my fear is we're such a weak — we're such a kind of a soft team, now that teams take the court with us. We've lost that aura we've had when we've taken the court the last couple of years."

Creighton guard Jamiya Neal had a career night, scoring 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting to lead the Bluejays to victory over a UConn team missing star player Liam McNeeley, who was sidelined with an ankle sprain.

On Dan Hurley's side, they were without a true offensive leader, as leading scorer Alex Karaban struggled, going 3-of-12 from the field for just eight points. Hassan Diarra and Solo Ball each chipped in 15 points, but it wasn't enough for a comeback win.

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Dan Hurley and UConn suffer fifth loss of the season

The Huskies have lost five games this season — a stark contrast to the previous season under Dan Hurley, when they posted a 37-3 record. While this group may not be as gifted as last year's, the coach believes its spirit, effort and connectedness could help overcome that.

After a perfect 4-0 start, UConn had a horrendous trip to Hawaii, losing three games in as many days at the Maui Invitational. The Huskies lost by a small margin against Memphis and Colorado but got blown out by Dayton.

Following that dreadful trip, UConn bounced back by going on an eight-game winning streak before suffering another setback at Villanova last week. On Saturday, the Huskies lost to Creighton, failing 13-5 overall and 5-2 in the Big East.

Dan Hurley's men will look to get back on track when they take on Butler on Jan. 21 at XL Center in Hartford.