The reigning king of college hoops had wrung himself dry over the previous couple of hours, as he does every game, win or lose — the ranting, the raging, the whining, the often-brilliant coaching. Dan Hurley then changed out of his navy blue suit and into UConn sweats for his meeting with the media Wednesday night,

UConn men's basketball lost its first game since November, falling 68-66 to Villanova. Huskies head coach Dan Hurley stayed optimistic after the loss, crediting Villanova for a great performance and highlighting his team's effort.

Eric Dixon scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half to propel host Villanova to a 68-66 upset of No. 9 UConn Wednesday night.

Villanova upset No. 9 UConn, 68-66, in a nail-biter Wednesday night at a raucous Finneran Pavilion. The Wildcats (10-5, 4-1 Big East) held a 32-25 halftime advantage by forcing nine first-half turnovers and limiting UConn’s high-octane offense to a 37 percent clip from three-point range.

Eric Dixon scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half and Villanova held on for a 68-66 No. 9 UConn on Wednesday night after the Huskies’ Alex Karaban missed two free throws with 3.1 seconds left.