Dan Hurley has done an outstanding job as head coach of UConn basketball, and a large part of the program’s success under his watch is the culture he has ingrained in the team. That can be gleaned clearly from the praise Marquette Golden Eagles head coach Shaka Smart gave to the Huskies after his team lost to the reigning national champs.
“The thing that makes them great is there is zero entitlement with their team. No one cares who scores. No one cares who gets the credit,” Smart said (h/t Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports).
Smart’s Golden Eagles are one of the best teams in the 2023-24 college basketball season but even got toyed by UConn, which defeated No. 4 Marquette at home on Sunday, 81-53. Four UConn basketball players scored in double figures led by Donovan Clingan, who finished with 17 points. At the same time, the Huskies held the Golden Eagles down to an atrocious 36.8 field goal percentage.
UConn basketball excels on both ends of the floor. The Huskies are elite offensively and defensively, ranking third in KenPom in terms of adjusted offensive efficiency and 11th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency.
With their win over Smart’s Golden Eagles, the Huskies improved their overall record to 24-2 and 14-1 against Big East opponents. UConn basketball’s only losses to date were against the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence back in December and to the Seton Hall Pirates on the road that same month. Since then, the Huskies have not looked back, stitching together 14 games in a row.
Up next for UConn is a game in Omaha on Tuesday versus the Creighton Bluejays.
More must-reads: