UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley recently revealed what led to their elimination from this year’s national tournament. On Wednesday, July 16, Hurley shared, via social media, the reason why he and his team were defeated by the Florida Gators, 77-75, in the second round of the 2025 March Madness.
“I re-watch the previous season every July…It’s a necessary exercise with the new team on campus preparing for the upcoming season…Our lack of defense killed our season! And let’s just say getting thru Maui was time consuming,” Hurley wrote on X.
I rewatch the previous season every July…it’s a necessary exercise with the new team on campus preparing for the upcoming season…our lack of defense killed our season! And let’s just say getting thru Maui was time consuming…🤐
— Dan Hurley (@dhurley15) July 16, 2025
Heading into the March Madness, Hurley and the Huskies were the two-time defending national champions, having won the NCAA tournament in 2023 and 2024. They were aiming for a first-ever national title three-peat in their program’s history, which would’ve also been the first since the UCLA Bruins accomplished it in 1973.
In the 2024-25 season, Hurley and the Huskies lost all three of their games in the 2024 Maui Invitational. These losses may have affected their momentum, as they uncorked an up-and-down campaign compared to their previous outings, and finished with an overall record of 24-11 (14-6, Big East). With the loss of key cogs, such as Liam McNeeley, UConn has been retooling this offseason.
Dan Hurley Detailed the Kind of Offseason That Awaited UConn Huskies After 2025 March Madness Loss
During the post-game press conference of the UConn Huskies’ second-round elimination to the Florida Gators in this year’s NCAA tournament, coach Dan Hurley was asked about the loss and how it put their previous winning seasons into perspective.
The 52-year-old had talked about how different this offseason would be for them after having celebration-filled ones in 2023 and 2024.
“I would say going into the year, there’s a lot of rewiring and things I’ve got to do in the offseason because you just get caught up in this tidal wave of success that we’ve had. You lose perspective. You struggle with the ego at times because you’ve been on this incredible run. It will be nice to get to a normal offseason and just get back to myself as a coach and not have to throw out first pitches,” Hurley said (via YouTube channel ‘CBS Sports’).
“You should only be ringing stock market bells and throwing out first pitches when you win the major championship. I won’t have to do things like that. I’ll be able to just focus on the upcoming season and make better decisions with all aspects of coaching,” he added.
Dan Hurley now enters his eighth year at the helm of the Huskies’ coaching staff, as they look to win their third national championship in four years in the 2025-26 season.
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