UConn Men’s Basketball: This Defensive Metric From Preseason Will Blow Your Mind

On Oct. 13, I sat in the press conference room at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., and listened to UConn Huskies men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley speak optimistically about his team’s defense heading into the 2026-27 season.

He said he liked the upside for his team’s defense, and he called Silas Demary Jr. perhaps the most ball-hawking guard in the entire country.

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So far, his assessment of his team’s defense has played out exactly as he thought. UConn went 3-0 in a challenging preseason, beating Syracuse, Michigan State and Purdue, the latter of which the Huskies rolled by 23 points.

And while the margins of victory and points allowed tell part of the story, this stat should blow your mind and have you very excited for the upcoming campaign.

As noted by UConn Sports Nation on social media, the Huskies allowed these three opponents to shoot a combined 9-of-64 from beyond-the-arc. That is just 14 percent in total.

Purdue was 2-of-25. Syracuse was 4-of-19. Michigan State was 3-of-20. That’s just suffocating defense from Hurley’s group.

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While he’s not always consistent (yet), transfer center Na’jai Hines has a chance to be a truly elite shot blocker. If he is, then opponents will have a difficult time getting into the post or the lane. As a result, they’ll likely turn to the perimeter. But guess what? There don’t appear to be answers there either.

And if you can’t score inside or outside, what are your options as an opponent? Hope that UConn misses on offense and you can win a 51-49 game, or hope that you can get UConn in foul trouble and take advantage at the line?

UConn Huskies guard Braylon Mullins (24) blocks a shot attempt from Michigan Wolverines guard Roddy Gayle Jr. (11) in the first half during the national championship of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Both of those are hard ways to live, which makes things very advantageous for the Huskies, who are trying to get to the…

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Publish date : 2026-10-28 15:15:00

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