For 18 straight games, Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies looked invincible before the cracks started to show. In their last five games, the Huskies lost two and won three. Those losses exposed something that couldn’t be ignored. In their latest contest against the Villanova Wildcats, the No. 5-ranked team’s bench stole the show, clinching a 73-63 win. But rather than focusing on the comeback, Hurley reflected on what he believes caused the recent dip, and he didn’t hesitate to take responsibility.

“I just think I did a bad job with some of these guys, like Jaylin Stewart is a heck of a player,” Hurley said of his bench usage. “When we were winning those big non-conference games (against) Florida, Illinois, BYU, and they were healthy, he was a big part of it. I just did a bad job as a coach of connecting with my player, letting him know I got confidence in him.”

The Huskies remain firmly in the hunt for a No. 1 seed and another deep March Madness run, but their loss to the Creighton Bluejays exposed some cracks on Wednesday. The issue wasn’t the effort or talent, but something subtler and, in the coach’s view, self-inflicted.

“Sometimes, as a coach, when a guy’s playing bad, especially bench players, ‘These guys stink, I’m not playing them, or I’m going to have a quick hook,'” Hurley said. “I think I’ve mismanaged my bench. Probably for the last two weeks, and I gotta get those guys on the court because they’re a big reason why we had some of the best non-conference wins than anyone this year.”

During the season’s early non-conference run, Stewart’s physical presence and ability to defend multiple spots around the perimeter gave UConn flexibility while stars like Solo Ball and Alex Karaban rested. But as the season progressed, his role diminished, and his court time was limited.

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Weeks later, in the win over the Wildcats, Stewart knocked down a pair of threes, while the Huskies’ bench outscored the Wildcats’ reserves 22-8.

Hurley has criticized his reserves in the past. Back in January, after almost losing against DePaul, the coach admitted after the game that he “didn’t like the way (the reserves) handled” maintaining the lead in the second half. He pulled Stewart, Malachi Smith, Jacob Furphy, Eric Reibe, and Jayden Ross off the court and put the starters back in within only seconds.

Now, with just four more regular-season games remaining, Hurley’s admission carries real urgency. If the Huskies are serious about making another deep run, they will need more than Ball’s and Karaban’s efforts, and will also need to trust the bench, especially in moments when foul trouble and fatigue set in.

What’s next for Dan Hurley and the Huskies?

With the Villanova win under their belt, the Huskies have improved to 25-3 overall and 15-2 in the Big East. But there’s no time to rest, as their next matchup brings them another high-ranked opponent. On February 25, Dan Hurley and Co. will lock horns with the No. 17 St. John’s Red Storm at PeoplesBank Arena.

St. John’s (15-1) sits atop the conference and already handed UConn an 81-72 loss earlier this month. That defeat snapped their winning streak and exposed the very issues Hurley later publicly addressed: rotation tightening, bench inconsistency, and lapses under physical pressure.

Now, the rematch offers something more than revenge. If the Huskies take this one home, they will get much-needed validation before March.

The Huskies are currently averaging 79.2 points per game while allowing around 66 points, relying on defensive discipline and half-court efficiency. St. John’s, meanwhile, brings one of the league’s most aggressive profiles, scoring nearly 84 points per game and pressuring teams into uncomfortable stretches.

Although ESPN Analytics predicts this game will favor the Huskies by 69.6%, for Hurley, the result will depend on trust. If the bench responds the way it did against Villanova, UConn won’t just tighten its grip in the Big East race, but prove that the lesson from Creighton wasn’t wasted.