Hurley Jeers Spark Uconns Liam McNeeley I Win in Creighton

Omaha, Neb. – Uconn -Nydhedstar Star Liam McNeeley hadn’t played in front of an audience as hostile as the one that Huskies faced in Omaha on Tuesday night. He found the environment inspiring.

In what coach Dan Hurley called one of the best performances all season in college-basketball, McNeeley scored a career mound 38 points, while he was willing to Huskies for a 70-66 win over No. 24 Creighton.

“I had an explosion,” McNeeley said. “Energy is feeding energy and I felt it.”

Some of his motivation was drawn from Creighton student who has unnecessarily Heckled Hurley since Uconn began taking annual trips to Omaha as the school joined Big East in 2020.

“A lot of students’ sections have started singing a three-word song before the game, during the game, during timeouts,” McNeeley said, referring to vulgarities aimed at Hurley. “A shot against coach is a shot at the team, so it makes me fired up.”

The 6-Foot-7 McNeeley, who played his second game since he returned from an ankle injury that sidelined him for eight kind minutes against Bluejays.

McNeeley opened Uconn’s score with the first of its season high five 3-Pointers on 10 attempts. He was 12-of-22 from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds.

“I was pretty confident when I got my first shot off,” he said.

Hurley said McNeeley makes Uconn a top-10-or-12 team in the nation when he is healthy and in rhythm. Uconn went 5-3 without McNeeley, and this week fell out of the AP Top 25 for the first time since the start of the 2022-23 season.

“He will be a top-10 (NBA Draft) choice,” Hurley said. “No beginner has had a more impressive performance in this type of environment against a team like that.”

McNeeley was on his animated best when he hit back-to-back 3s and dunked a steal when Huskies took their first lead midway through the second half. When Creighton called a timeout, McNeeley pumped his right fist and screamed to fans behind the Uconn bench. Then he turned to Creighton students and waved with his arms.

The night ended with McNeeley pulling the rebound down, buried and making two free kicks with 4 seconds left. At that time, fans were on their way to exits.

“I thought the gym was really quiet,” he said. “You couldn’t hear a look. They were tall when it went well, but the amount died pretty quickly.”