PHILADELPHIA — Dan Hurley knew in the offseason what Connecticut needed to emphasize if it wanted to return to the level it was when the Huskies won back-to-back championships in March Madness, just two years ago.
The Huskies, the 2 seed in the East Region of the 2026 Men's NCAA Tournament, didn't need any philosophical or schematic changes. They simply needed to get back to the backbone of the program since Hurley took it over in 2018.
"Having elite defense is what sustains you. ... We know that we've got to do this with our defense," Hurley told assembled media on March 19 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
"It was really just taking pride in our defense, taking pride in being who we wanted to be," Huskies veteran forward Alex Karaban told USA TODAY Sports on March 19. "... Us returners took more pride. Coach (also) brought in some great transfers that really helped us too."
Huskies defense can 'win them a national championship'
The Huskies' defensive metrics last season were well off from their 2022-23 and 2023-24 national championship seasons. They ranked 75th in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom at the end of the season, and 79th in the same metric on Bart Torvik.
"That's a complete aberration from really the series of these four seasons (for them),” Fox Sports’ Mike DeCourcy told USA TODAY Sports in a recent interview. "They didn't do anything particularly well at the defensive end."
Fast forward to now, and the Huskies defense ranks top 12 on both KenPom and Bart Torvik in adjusted defensive efficiency.
"That’s been Coach Hurley’s emphasis throughout the whole year. He wanted to be a defensive team and he knew from last year’s team the improvement that we needed," freshman guard Braylon Mullins told USA TODAY Sports.
It has become the foundation of Hurley’s 2025-26 squad heading into the NCAA Tournament. If the Huskies can find more consistency with their offense over the next few weeks, their ceiling and chances of another championship will rise that much higher.
"They just swarm the ball. They make you very uncomfortable from the tip, and they don't waste any time getting after you defensively," NBC Sports’ John Fanta told USA TODAY Sports in February. "They don't let you flow, they don't let you get shots off (of) assists. … The defense is the certainty with this team, and that can win them a national championship because they just bother you out on the perimeter.”
One of the additions Hurley added over the offseason who has transformed his team’s defense has been Georgia transfer point guard Silas Demary Jr., who can impact the defense in the backcourt.
"I take a lot of pride on the defensive end, not letting my man score," Demary told USA TODAY Sports. "I think that makes the guys around me even want to do that, too. Like growing on the defensive end."
Karaban has seen firsthand the way Demary changed the Huskies' defensive identity.
"He’s been a ball hawk for us,” Karaban said. “He’s the lead man for our attack, and he does it defensively for us just pressuring the point guard from the jump. We really feed off his energy."
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The Huskies defense also have rim protection with 6-foot-11, 265-pound forward Tarris Reed Jr., who has looked more comfortable in Year 2 inside Hurley’s system after he transferred in from Michigan.
"Tarris Reed becoming more of a factor as a big guy who can block shots and take up space. That's been huge in their defense," DeCourcy said.
Reed has come alive in recent weeks with his interior presence and ability to muscle his way into and around the paint. He is averaging 14 points and 9.8 rebounds in his last eight games, including a 20-point, 11-rebound game vs St. John’s in February.
"(He) is that bear inside that any great team has," Fanta said.
UConn 'hit a home run' with Silas Demary
It isn’t just UConn’s defense that has put them back on track to challenge for a third national championship in four seasons. The Huskies also have elevated production at point guard, through Demary.
"They learned that they needed point guard play," Fanta said. "They saw firsthand what happens when you don't have a great defense and you don't have point guard play. It's really hard to overcome those two things."
The Huskies landed Aidan Mahaney from Saint Mary’s to replace Tristen Newton in the portal last season, an addition that ultimately didn’t work out as planned, as Mahaney averaged 1.3 assists per game last season.
"Dan Hurley missed in the transfer portal last year on point guard play," Fanta said. "They have hit a home run this year with Silas Demary, who I think is one of the best point guards in the country.”
The Raleigh, North Carolina, product enters March Madness leading the Big East with 6.2 assists per game, good for 22nd-best among Division I players. He has finished with eight or more assists in 11 games this season.
"He's the head of the snake defensively. He's a leader at making things happen," Fanta said. "I don't want to say he's their everything. I'm going to say Demary changed everything with how he's played."
But on a team balanced with veterans and newcomers, Demary hasn’t been the only new X-factor for the Huskies.
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Braylon Mullins 'can be the last piece' for UConn
The biggest missing piece to the puzzle from last season’s roster, perhaps, has been Mullins.
"When he's making shots, he's got an edge to him," Fanta said of Mullins. "Last year's UConn team, they didn't have that edge."
It’s that edge that has allowed the All-Big East Freshman Team honoree to establish himself as a reliable go-to option for the Huskies with his ability to hit tough and challenging shots from the perimeter on a consistent basis.
"He’s always been super elite and once he’s hitting (shots), it opens everything else up for us," Karaban said. "Really never going to tell him to turn down a shot. … (He’s) super special."
In UConn’s Big East tournament semifinal win vs Georgetown at Madison Square Garden, Mullins became the first Huskies freshman to finish with at least 21 points and five rebounds in a Big East Tournament contest. He’s the program’s sixth-ever freshman to score at least 20 points in the conference tournament.
"Part of what makes him impactful is that there doesn't seem to be any tension from the veteran players, the more experienced players, when he takes those challenging shots. They seem to understand, as well as basketball people, as the coaches do, that he can be the difference," DeCourcy said.
"... There's an understanding there for everyone that he can be the last piece."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How defense can lead UConn basketball on another March Madness title run
