LAHAINA, Hawaii — An opportunity in paradise has turned into a trip to hell for Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies. The No. 2 team in the country is officially out of sorts after losing two games in two days to unranked opponents.
Colorado came back from an 11-point deficit to beat the two-time champs 73-72 in the opening game of the consolation bracket Tuesday in the Maui Invitational. A tough right-handed runner by Andrej Jakimovski with 8.5 remaining gave the Buffs the lead; Jakimovski didn’t have to worry about a big man because, for the second straight day, UConn had its top two bigs, Samson Johnson and Tarris Reed Jr., foul out.
Hassan Diarra‘s 3-point attempt fell awry and Colorado pulled off the upset. The Buffs came into the day ranked No. 82 at KenPom.com. For UConn, the defeat marks the first time Dan Hurley’s team has taken on back-to-back losses since Jan. 18, 2023.
UConn, which had not lost consecutive games since January 2023, will try to avoid going 0-3 in the Maui Invitational when it plays in the seventh-place game, the last tipoff on Wednesday night against the loser of Tuesday’s Iowa State-Dayton game.
This post will be updated