Still bitter over his loss against Marquette (68-62), UConn coach Dan Hurley has yet to come to terms with losing out on the regular-season title to St. John’s.

Speaking to John Fanta of NBC Sports, the fiery coach looked a bit disappointed, but was quick to address the problems that his team is facing on the court.

“The turnovers have been crippling and debilitating for the team. Look what we’re shooting from the field, we’re shooting slightly under from the field, what the 24 team shot, and we shoot overall better from three, but the turnovers have absolutely crushed us. The 16 at Marquette killed us, and the first St John’s game, we turned it over in a game we had the chance to win, and we lost it.”

“Especially the turnovers, the turnovers for us are absolute killers. If we can keep our turnovers in single digits, we’ve got a great chance of winning a lot of games this month,” said Hurley as he looked distraught with the problem the turnovers were creating for the team.

While teams can typically get away with up to 15 turnovers, the 16 from UConn is beyond the expected limit, and Hurley knows there is a fine line between mediocrity and greatness, and that is what he has problems with.

UConn has so far made 342 turnovers in its 31 games, and Hurley wants to bring it to single digits, which is understandable because guards like Silas Demary Jr and Solo Ball handle heavy playmaking duties, which naturally increases turnover risk.

Although the frontcourt players like Tarris Reed Jr and Alex Karaban have been less prone to making turnovers, they still have notable miscues, often from post-entry passes or double-team situations.

Thankfully for UConn, up until the Marquette game, they still managed to roll with the nagging injury because their scoring potency has stayed stable. But what does this mean for UConn’s future in the Big East Tournament?

Will UConn Make It In The Big East Men’s Basketball Tournament?

Despite the turnover woes, Hurley has a talented roster capable of making a deep tournament run. Dan Hurley can breathe easy knowing he has a team of able players at his disposal, and if he can play his cards right and get this one-off-loss out of his team’s mind, it can bring back the UConn of old.

No stooped shoulders, no more coaches getting ejected from the game after losing their cool with the officiating, the team needs to believe in its abilities.

UConn has the most solid defense in the competition, and that can prove to be its trump card heading into March Madness. Guards like Silas Demary Jr., who is averaging a conference-leading 6.5 assists per game, and senior bigs Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr are all playing their part extremely well. Those three were named to the All-Big East first team, becoming the first trio from the same squad to earn the honor in conference history.

Moreover, UConn is playing more as a team than everybody else, which is why you won’t see any individual player enjoying a stark lead over the others, and they already have that high-level experience. Dan Hurley has won two NCAA titles in the last four years, and that experience does count when things get tight and the pressure is on.

UConn will play its opening match against the winner of the Marquette and Xavier game, and that could possibly create a rematch with a lot of bad blood between the two sides. For his sake, Dan Hurley would surely not want to repeat the same mistake that he made in their last encounter.