Dan Hurley’s emotions ran the gamut following his team’s 77-75 loss to Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, which ended UConn’s bid for a third straight national championship.

UConn’s improbable bid for a third straight national title continued when Alex Karaban came through with a critical 3-pointer and a floater in the lane during a late run that helped the Huskies hold off Oklahoma 67-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

UConn struggled at times after losing four starters from the national championship team.

Rick Pitino has won his first Big East Coach of the Year award and RJ Luis Jr. took Player of the Year honors after they propelled a resurgent St. John’s program to its best regular season in almost four decades.

UConn freshman star Liam McNeeley hadn’t played in front of a crowd as hostile as the one the Huskies faced in Omaha, Nebraska.

RJ Luis Jr. scored six of his 21 points in the final 2:16 to help No. 12 St. John’s extend its winning streak to 10 games with a 68-62 victory over No. 19 UConn.

Dealing with the absence of star freshman Liam McNeeley for much of January and some inconsistent play, the two-time defending national champion UConn Huskies looked like a title contender in their first game in February with a win at Marquette.

Solo Ball scored a career-high 25 points while shooting 7 of 9 from 3-point range as No. 25 UConn never trailed in a 77-69 victory over No. 9 Marquette on Saturday.

Jamiya Neal had a career-high 24 points to lead Creighton to a 68-63 win over No. 14 UConn.