UConn struggles continue since Dan Hurley told official he was best coach in men’s college basketball

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In an 80-78 overtime victory against Butler on Jan. 21, UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley attracted national attention not for something his team did, but something he said.

At a stoppage in the game, television cameras cut to the Huskies coach berating a referee over what he believed to be a missed call.

“Don’t turn your back on me,” Hurley said to the official, who had started to walk away while Hurley was speaking to him. “I’m the best coach in the f—ing sport.”

REQUIRED READING: Rick Pitino vs. Dan Hurley head-to-head record: Comparing St. John’s, UConn coaches

As it turns out, he may not even be the best coach in his own conference.

On Sunday, Hurley’s UConn team fell to Rick Pitino and No. 9 St. John’s 89-75 at Madison Square Garden in New York, giving the Red Storm a regular-season sweep of the two-time reigning national champion. With the loss, the Huskies are 4.5 games behind St. John’s for first place in the Big East, effectively eliminating them from the regular-season conference championship race.

Few, if any, people doubt Hurley’s accomplishments and his abilities as a coach.

The 52 year old has won at every stop of his career, from Wagner to Rhode Island to UConn. He took over a reeling Huskies program and transformed it into a juggernaut that won each of the past two NCAA championships. UConn not only won the 2023 and 2024 titles, but it was dominant in doing so, compiling a 68-11 record over those two seasons and winning each of its 12 NCAA tournament games across those runs by at least 13 points.

Since famously asserting that he was the best coach in the sport, though, his team hasn’t quite lived up to that standard.

In the eight games since that narrow win against Butler, the Huskies are just 4-4. Prior to that comment, UConn had been 13-5.

REQUIRED READING: Men’s March Madness bracket projection: No. 1 seeds, last 4 in, first 4 out for NCAA tournament

The recent rut has included a loss at Xavier, which is widely projected to miss the…

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Author : USA TODAY Sports

Publish date : 2025-02-23 20:43:00

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