McNeeley carries UConn men in career night, Karaban’s woes continue as team looks to ‘reinvent’ itself

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OMAHA – It was a difficult five-week stretch for Liam McNeeley, sitting at the end of the bench in a polo shirt and khakis while his UConn teammates battled through close Big East games. Meanwhile, coach Dan Hurley often spoke of the highly-touted rookie as a sort of savior who could turn his team into a contender again. At times, it seemed like a lot to put on the shoulders of a freshman.

But McNeeley was exactly as advertised on Tuesday night.

As his teammates struggled – some in foul trouble, others injured or in a slump – McNeeley plugged the holes and accounted for more than half of the team’s points with 38 and 10 rebounds in the 70-66 victory, UConn’s first-ever in Omaha.

“You could just see the difference that Liam makes with the team,” Hurley said. “Obviously now we’ve got point guard problems because of Hassan (Diarra’s) poor health and just not having an answer right now beyond him. So we’re just trying to reinvent ourselves with a bigger, positionless lineup.”

McNeeley came off the bench and recorded an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double in his return against St. John’s on Friday night and was back in the starting lineup on Tuesday as Hurley went without a point guard. Creighton coach Greg McDermott was admittedly surprised after the game, expecting Diarra to play significant minutes even off the bench despite his lingering knee injury. But he played just seven minutes – all in the first half – and UConn used more size across the board to help shut off Creighton’s shooters, who combined to 7-for-24 from beyond the arc, 3-for-13 in the second half.

Liam McNeeley’s 38 point double-double leads UConn men to road victory at No. 24 Creighton, 70-66

But the Huskies also had to go without a center for much of the second half as Samson Johnson (2 points, 4 rebounds) and Tarris Reed Jr. (0 points, 3 rebounds) each picked up their fourth foul with more than 14 minutes left in the game.

The ball had to be in McNeeley’s hands.

“I felt…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/mcneeley-carries-uconn-men-career-173800123.html

Author : Hartford Courant

Publish date : 2025-02-12 17:38:00

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