Dan Hurley does not like officials. This seems like a safe statement given his history with referees, whether it be technical fouls or postgame comments while at UConn. Hurley's Huskies lost in the Round fo 32 to the Florida Gators on Sunday, thus ending their March Madness winning streak altogether.
The Huskies had won two straight NCAA Tournament titles, but this version of Hurley's UConn team was a bit weaker. Hurley is one of the best coaches in the country, but he has a competitive streak that often gets the best of him. On Sunday following a close loss to the Gators, that came out in full force. Hurley made a comment about the officials that could earn him a fine or worse.
“I hope they don’t f*** you like they f***ed us, Baylor. I really hope they don’t," Hurley said.
Dan Hurley will come to regret comments about UConn loss to Florida
Every game has some controversial calls, but it would take a detective to find even three bad decisions which cost UConn this contest. The Huskies were outmatched, and were facing a No. 1 seed in the Florida Gators. It isn't really all that complicated.
Despite any referee criticism in the tunnel, Hurley's actual postgame comments to the media were honorable. He acknowledged Sunday's loss was the end of an era for UConn, and he made sure to shout out all the players who helped the Huskies along the way.
“I thought we played with tremendous honor,” Hurley said during a postgame interview. “We played with the heart of a championship program, a program that’s gone back to back. For a team to end what we really wanted to do, they were going to have to put us down.”
Hurley fought back tears during his press conference, which is understandable. This has been a remarkable run, and likely won't end anytime soon. UConn were undermanned against Florida but will restock via recruiting and the transfer portal for the 2025-26 season.
Unfortunately, Hurley's tendencies got the best of him. Criticizing the officials and even providing Baylor with an out prior to the Bears matchup against Duke ought to cost the UConn head coach. Hurley is better than this, and a leader of men at that. At 52 years old, we expect better from the Huskies coach, barring he wasn't actually screwed over. In this case, he fabricated reality.