Dan Hurley full of emotion after UConn’s three-peat bid ends

RALEIGH, N.C. — 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.

There was anger at the officiating down the stretch, causing Hurley to lash out over some perceived bad calls as he left the court. There was frustration over his team’s self-inflicted mistakes, like failing to box out on free throws and corral key rebounds at crucial times.

There were tears, plenty of them, at the realization that the Huskies’ impressive championship run had abruptly and painfully come to an end, and that he had to say goodbye to seniors like Alex Karaban and Samson Johnson who’ve poured their hearts into the program.

Finally, there was pride at what UConn had accomplished over the past three years and what it could achieve in the future.

Hurley knew it was coming to an end at some point.

His team was, after all, a No. 8 seed, and it would have taken a minor miracle to run the table and win a third straight title with a roster that wasn’t nearly as talented as his past two teams. But that didn’t make it any easier when the time arrived.

“A lot of emotion, man,” Hurley said at his postgame news conference, twice stopping to hold back tears. “We’re a passionate program. The players play with it. I coach with it. You’re always (expletive) drained when it’s over.”

A few minutes earlier, Hurley watched with his arms folded as Liam McNeeley knocked down a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer — a shot UConn certainly could have used earlier before surrendering a six-point lead with less than 10 minutes to go — to conclude an up-and-down season for the Huskies (24-11).

He walked over to congratulate Florida coach Todd Golden and they embraced for an unusually long time. He spoke closely to Golden’s ear as the raucous Gator faithful roared with delight over their team’s first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2017.

“We have great respect for each other,” Golden said when asked what Hurley told him. “Obviously he sees me as kind of an up-and-coming coach and probably sees a lot of himself in me in terms of being a fiery competitor and someone who runs a great program and does it the right way. He was very gracious and very respectful and gave a great message of, hey, congratulations.”

A few seconds later, the ultra-competitive Hurley walked off the court and profanely shared his frustration over the officiating with some Baylor fans as the Bears were preparing to take the floor against No. 1 seed Duke. Hurley later spoke about one particular foul that wasn’t called when Karaban drove the baseline with UConn up two.

Once the competitiveness waned and reality had set in, Hurley spoke to a CBS reporter while trying to hold back tears, saying for a team to stop UConn’s run, they “were really going to have to put us down” and that “there was honor in the way we went out.”

Hurley said he will never love a team more than this one.

That’s in part because of what this group of players has been through. Nothing was easy. They lost three straight games at the Maui Invitational, raising alarms about whether they’d even be able to participate in March Madness.

Hurley later choked up when a reporter asked Johnson, who was sitting next to him, about going out as the winningest player in UConn history.

There is little doubt it will all take a while to sink in.

Losing never comes easy for great teams.

Hurley said he’s hoping this offseason gives him a chance to gain some perspective over what his teams accomplished over the last few seasons.

He joked that he’s looking forward to what will be a “normal offseason” where he won’t have to throw out any ceremonial first pitches at baseball games or ring bells to signal the start of the stock market — awards and honors that came in a flurry after two national titles.

“You just get caught up in this tidal wave of success that we’ve had,” Hurley said. “You lose perspective. You struggle with the ego at times because you’ve been on this incredible run. ... I’ll be able to just focus on the upcoming season and make better decisions with all aspects of coaching.”

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