Dan Hurley was sidelined again on Tuesday night before his team nearly lost to Butler in overtime at home in what should have been a very winnable game.
After berating an official during the first half of an 80-78 overtime victory over the Bulldogs, the UConn head coach found a way to blame the cameras for his outburst. Just before doing so, though, he admitted that he "sounds like a jerk here."
That was UConn head coach Dan Hurley’s response when asked, “Don’t turn your back on me.” To the referees, I'm the best coach in the sport. pic.twitter.com/Gm7u3DwEpY
— Next Round (@NextRoundLive) January 22, 2025
"I just wish they would have shown the referees in the other Big East games I've coached that other coaches lose their minds and go into timeouts when I don't talk to the referees and I think other coaches are being expressive just like me," Hull Leigh said Tuesday night at the XL Center. "Obviously, the camera is something I created for myself. I'm not a victim. I just hope they don't point the camera at me 90 percent of the time unless they feel it will boost ratings and post more on Twitter Clips of my game and then they go,” look what a monster he is, he yelled at the referee again. What a monster. "
Late in the first half, as the teams began walking to their benches to wait for a timeout, Hurley was caught screaming at an official. Hurley was upset about the foul on the other end, but lost it when the referee turned his back and started ignoring him.
"Don't turn your back on me," Hurley can be seen screaming at the officer. "I'm the best coach in the sport."
He didn't receive a technical foul for the outburst, and the Huskies went on to beat Butler by two points in overtime. Solo Ball scored 23 points and 6 rebounds, and Alex Karaban scored 19 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. The win moved UConn to 14-5 on the season, following a home loss to Creighton on Saturday. Butler won just one Big East game this season, falling to 8-11.
Hurley's antics on Tuesday night were nothing new. The coach, who led UConn to back-to-back national championships, was repeatedly stopped by assistants while yelling at officials at the Maui Invitational earlier this season, including once when he was hit with a technical foul. Causing the team to lose. Lose them a game. Hurley even said after the game that despite this being the most important Thanksgiving week tournament of every season, he would never play in this event or anything like it again.
But to their credit, the Huskies are still well-positioned to pull off a rare three-peat in college basketball. If they win the game, it will be difficult to question his off-field behavior.
Based on his comments after Tuesday's game, he won't be making any adjustments either.