Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies hadn’t felt the sting of a loss in 18 games, but a trip to Madison Square Garden and a simple message from Rick Pitino changed everything. A team that hadn’t lost since before Thanksgiving and was crushing opponents by nearly 60 points combined in their last two games just walked into Madison Square Garden and lost.

The Huskies were widely considered to be the team that was going to come out as champions in this game. And with a coach like Dan Hurley and players like Tarris Reed Jr., it’s not hard to see why. But the Red Storm stepped with “no fear’ in this game and won 81-72. And it’s all thanks to what Pitino said to his team before they walked onto the Garden floor.

After the game, Pitino revealed the simple, yet powerful, mantra he instilled in his players, a message designed to erase any doubt against a seemingly unbeatable opponent. “I said. Have no fear of failure. I said. You know they’re a good basketball team at every possession they are well organized, have no fear. Go out and play like, you know, you can play,” Pitino said.

After a tightly contested first half that ended 39-39, the Red Storm took control of the game in the second half. And while the Huskies gave it their all, as Silas Demary Jr. finished with 18 points, seven assists, and five rebounds. Alex Karaban added 17 more. But 15 total turnovers, including nine from Demary, and missed free throws (5-of-12 from the line) proved too much to overcome.

“I just kept telling them when it went to two and four, ‘We have no fear of failure.’ That’s why we played a tough schedule in the beginning of the year,” Rick Pitino added. “I said to learn to get these moments. They played great down the stretch, real proud of them.”

Where the Huskies struggled, the Red Storm capitalized at the free-throw line, going 22-of-31, and consistently pressured UConn into costly turnovers down the stretch to help seal the win.

“We switched intelligently, and then we got rebounds, and even when we missed the free throw, we got the rebound on a spectacular play. It was a wonderful night for the fans. Wonderful Night, the world’s Greatest Arena, with one of the great wins,” the coach said.

As the season moves forward, the Red Storm men will head into their upcoming games with renewed confidence, and at a time when the regular season is about to end, this kind of confidence is no less than a superpower.

What’s next for Rick Pitino and the Red Storm?

With this win under their belt, the Red Storm now sits at 18-5 overall and 11-1 in the Big East conference. Moreover, this has improved their winning streak to 9 games. The only conference game they have lost so far came against the Providence Friars on January 2nd. 

Coming to the stat sheet, if we had to give credits to any single player on this team for their exceptional performances, it would be Zuby Ejiofor. The senior forward leads his team with the most points (15.7), the most rebounds (7.5), the most assists (3.3), and the most blocks (2.0) per game.

For their next game, the Red Storm men will play against the Xavier Musketeers on February 9th. A game predicted in their favor with 93.3% by ESPN. Following that, they will play against:

• The Providence Friars on February 14th.
• The Marquette Golden Eagles on February 18th.
• The Creighton Bluejays on February 21st.

While the matchup against Friars will carry an extra weight, as Rick Pitino and his team will get a chance to redeem their only loss in Big East, the Red Storm have only 8 more games before the regular season ends. And if Pitino’s message truly sticks with this team, it could be the beginning of something much bigger in March.