Northeastern hadn't beaten UConn since the year before Jim Calhoun left the Boston-based Huskies to coach the ones at Connecticut.
That changed Monday night.
T.J. Williams scored 20 points and Northeastern won 64-61, dropping UConn to 0-2 for the first time in 48 years.
"It's pretty big for the school and it's pretty big for our team this year," Williams said. "It's really huge. It really hasn't sunk in yet, but it feels great; it feels wonderful."
Donnell Gresham Jr. added 13 points for Northeastern (2-0) and Alex Murphy had nine points and 15 rebounds.
Terry Larrier scored 17 points and Jalen Adams had 15 for UConn.
The UConn Huskies had a chance to tie the game at the end when freshman Alterique Gilbert stole a cross-court pass from Murphy as Northeastern was trying to run out the clock. But his 3-pointer hit the rim just before the buzzer.
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"I made one of the dumbest plays of my basketball career," said Murphy, a graduate transfer who played at both Duke and Florida. "It got picked off but Donnell (Gresham) was there to defend the shot, so thank God for him."
Northeastern led most of the way and was up 35-31 at halftime.
UConn went on a 9-1 run to open the second half to take a four-point lead, but Northeastern responded with a 10-2 run of its own.
A fast-break dunk by Murphy gave Northeastern its largest lead of the second half at 61-54 with just under 4 minutes left.
Larrier's off-balance runner in the lane had cut the lead to three points with 1:07 left and the Huskies forced a turnover to get the ball back. But Larrier missed two 3-pointers before Gilbert's play at the end.
Northeastern shot just 36 percent from the floor, but held UConn to 39 percent and outrebounded Connecticut 47-38, including 17-13 on the offensive boards.
"This is a dark time," UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. "I know that. I understand the expectations of everybody here, in this room and at UConn. I feel embarrassed right now. But when I feel embarrassed, I know I'm going to get through it and this team is going to get through it."
BIG PICTURE
UConn began the season ranked 18th in the nation and fell out of the rankings on Monday after losing its opener to Wagner , the team's first season-opening loss in 17 years. The Huskies are now 0-2 for the first time since the 1968-69 season, a year they started 0-10.
Northeastern: Northeastern last beat UConn in 1985, a 90-73 victory for Calhoun's team. The Hall-of-Fame coach won 248 games at Northeastern before guiding UConn to 625 wins and three national titles. Northeastern had lost eight straight in the series and 22 of the last 23 matchups between the schools. The Boston-based Huskies are now 5-35 against their namesakes.
STAT OF THE NIGHT
UConn made just 5 of 21 shots from 3-point range after going 6 for 19 from behind the arc against Wagner. Guards Rodney Purvis and Gilbert combined to go 2 for 11.
BLOCK PARTY
UConn's 7-foot center Amida Brimah blocked eight shots, giving him 289 for his career. That is third in school history behind Emeka Okafor (441) and Hasheem Thabeet (417).
INJURY
UConn freshman guard Christian Vital, who had five points in the Huskies opener, was forced to sit out the game against Northeastern with back issues.
UP NEXT
UConn: The Connecticut Huskies head west and then head further west. UConn plays its first road game against Loyola Marymount in Kevin Ollie's hometown of Los Angeles before traveling to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational, where Oklahoma State will be the opening round opponent on Nov. 21.
Northeastern: The Boston-based Huskies face Boston University for the second time in three games on Friday. Northeastern won the season-opening matchup at home 87-77. The second game comes as part of the Steve Wright Classic. That tournament, being hosted by BU also will include games against LIU Brooklyn and Maine.
