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UConn Basketball: 3 reasons why Huskies have been struggling as of late

By Josh Mullenix

Dec 1, 2022; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley coaches his players at a break during the second half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 1, 2022; Storrs, Connecticut, USA; Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley coaches his players at a break during the second half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports /
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UConn Basketball forward Adama Sanogo David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
UConn Basketball forward Adama Sanogo David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

2) Defending without fouling

The Huskies are 344th in the country in defensive free throw rate. For the entire season, opposing teams are taking almost one free throw for every two field goal attempts. They are last in the Big East in the category by almost 10 percentage points. To add salt to the wound, teams are shooting 74 percent from the line against UConn, that’s top 40 in the country in a bad way.

Dan Hurley’s squad is good defensively. They’re 12th in defensive efficiency at KenPom. Opponents are shooting 26.9 percent from beyond the arch and just 45 percent on twos. Only three teams give up fewer 3-point attempts than the Huskies. But the free throw line is putting so much pressure on the defense.

In Big East play alone, teams have taken 237 free throws in just 10 games. Even in their dismantling of Butler on Jan. 22, the Bulldogs got to the line 16 times and made all 16. Otherwise, they were 17-of-52 from the floor and 6-of-19 from deep.

The foul line has been a point of weakness for the Huskies all season, what’s changed is the quality of the opponent. Marquette is the nation’s best offense at KenPom. Sending them to the free throw line 19 times isn’t going to help you stop a team that very few teams have been able to stop offensively. Providence went to the line a whopping 35 times on Jan. 4 and Xavier 28 just five days prior.

The Huskies’ defense is quality at a lot of things and that continues to be the case in conference play. Second in defensive effective field goal percentage – as well as 2-point and 3-point field goal percentage – and third in block percentage. But the good teams in the Big East have exposed UConn’s version of not finishing possessions on that end of the floor.