It’s rare for Kansas coach Bill Self to be an underdog at home. It had only happened three times in 22 years before UConn closed as a 1.5-point favorite in Tuesday night’s showdown with the Jayhawks inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Darryn Peterson’s absence played a role in that number.
(Hopefully he’s back soon.)
Either way, by the time it was over, the oddsmakers looked smart making the Huskies small favorites on the road, as they pulled out a 61-56 victory over Kansas to improve to 7-1 on the season and remain No. 4 in Wednesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings.
Arizona, the only team to beat UConn, remains No. 1.
Short on things to cheer with the Jayhawks missing their best player and shooting just 35% from the field, including 28% from 3-point range, KU fans briefly resorted to a “F-ck Dan Hurley” chant that came through loud and clear. Asked about it afterward, the UConn coach said: “I wasn’t expecting that. Everyone was so nice to me the last time [we were here in December 2023]. I don’t really have anything. If that’s how people want to carry themselves in the game, it’s sports. We’re all f-cking gladiators.”
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It should be noted that UConn was also shorthanded — specifically because of Tarris Reed’s ankle injury. The 6-foot-11 center missed two games (against Arizona and Bryant), returned and played 15 minutes in last Friday’s win over Illinois, but missed the KU game and is considered day-to-day. In other words, UConn just won at Allen Fieldhouse without its leading scorer (15.5 points) and leading rebounder (8.3 boards), which is the latest bit of evidence suggesting that the Huskies really do have the goods to possibly win a third national championship in a four-year span after cutting nets in both 2023 and 2024.
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