Dan Hurley-led UConn Huskies recorded their sixth win of the 2025-26 NCAA season on Thursday. However, the game has been under scrutiny, as a controversial late-game call in the Thanksgiving clash has drawn sharp criticism from FOX broadcasters.

During the fourth quarter of the game against the Illinois Fighting Illini, with only 2:10 left on the clock, the Huskies led 66-59. However, the Fighting Illini men were on a 16-2 run and appeared poised to cut into UConn’s lead.

But that momentum was halted when UConn guard Malachi Smith sank a 3-pointer and was simultaneously fouled by Illinois’ Jake Davis. The call during the final minutes made college basketball broadcasters Casey Jacobsen and LaPhonso Ellis critical of the officials for getting a game-changing call wrong.

“That controversial 3, which I thought was a terrible call on two fronts,” Jacobsen said as per The Telegraph.

Whereas, Ellis added, “That controversial call really cost them. It should have been 66-59 with them, with the basketball, with the opportunity, if they make two, they’re down (five), or make a three-ball down (four). It’s a much different game. I wish the referees would have a lot more latitude to get it right. That was clearly a shot clock violation.”

But what really happened?

Well, with 3 seconds left on the clock, senior Alex Karaban drove for a contested layup, only to see it clatter off the backboard. Yet the shot clock was reset to 20 seconds. In that moment, Eric Reibe grabbed the offensive rebound and found Malachi Smith on the right wing, setting the stage for the chaotic final moments.

Davis tried to wrap up Smith; however, Smith, who’s been around long enough to know how to handle that situation, slid straight into his shooting motion to make sure he’d get free throws out of it. And so he launched from well beyond the arc, nearly 30 feet, and the shot dropped cleanly, sending the crowd at Madison Square Garden into a frenzy.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the floor, Brad Underwood and his assistants were furious. They were waving at the officials, trying to get them to address the earlier shot-clock mistake as the celebration unfolded around them.

The game was briefly paused for nearly five minutes as officials (James Breeding, Keith Kimble, and Paul Szelc) reviewed the play.

The situation should have been straightforward. The officials could have ruled a shot-clock violation on UConn, wiped away the three-pointer plus the foul, and given Illinois the ball. And if the clock had been reset by mistake, then UConn should’ve simply received the ball back with the two seconds that were actually left.

But that’s not what happened. The officials let the play stand as if nothing unusual had occurred. Viewers were told that the crew believed an earlier UConn attempt had touched the rim, supposedly justifying the reset.

Despite the controversy, the foul call gave Smith a chance for a four-point play, and as he sank the free throw, the Huskies’ lead extended to 70-59. The game ultimately ended in favour of Dan Hurley’s team with the final score of 74-61.

However, with the season moving forward, Illinois coach Brad Underwood is already looking forward, learning from this matchup, and coming out to be better than ever in their upcoming games.

What’s next for the Brad Underwood-led Fighting Illini?

With this loss under their belt, the Illinois Fighting Illini are 6-2 in the season so far. The only other loss they have recorded was against the Alabama Crimson Tide on November 19th. Except for these losses, the team has won all its matches with an average score difference of 29.6. Now, as they move forward, in a post-game interview, the coach opened up about his plans to make his team grow before upcoming games.

“We better get tougher! It’s nice we’ve got guys in practice. We get eight days right now. That’s huge! We’ve got to grow in those eight days. And we need practice desperately. That showed today. But I love where we can be. We have to figure out how to win and be tough,” he said.

The Fighting Illini men will play their next game on December 6th against the No. 17-ranked Tennessee Volunteers. Following that:

• Against the Ohio State Buckeyes on December 9th.
• Against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on December 13th.
• Against the Missouri Tigers on December 22nd.

Now, with crucial days to reset and regroup, the Illini have a chance to show exactly how they respond to adversity and show that this loss against Dan Hurley’s team was just a setback, not a step back.