Dan Hurley’s UConn Huskies defeated the Duke Blue Devils in the Elite Eight matchup of the NCAA Tournament. The game had a dramatic ending after the Huskies caught up to a double-digit deficit and Braylon Mullins hit a 35-foot three to seal the victory.
Needless to say, the Huskies were hyped when Mullins made the shot. Hurley, who is usually very animated and fiery on the sidelines, was celebrating even though the final buzzer was yet to go off.
With less than a second left on the clock, Hurley was jumping around and screaming to express his excitement. In the process of celebrating his team’s soon-to-be victory, Hurley nearly bumped heads with Roger Ayers, one of the game officials.
Gene Steratore, rules analyst for CBS Sports, explained what went down between Hurley and Ayers as the UConn coach was getting some pushback over his behavior.
“This was not a confrontational situation. Uconn hit a buzzer beater a few seconds before the viral moment between Ayers and Hurley,” he wrote on X. “Ayers is telling Hurley that the game isn’t over yet (there was a clock adjustment from 0.02 to 0.04 – which is notable for catch and shoot). Hurley isn’t physically contacting him, he’s just between Ayers and the scorer’s table.”
Steratore shared his own experience, having been in those situations, and stated that it’s a “state of shock to an extent.” He applauded Ayers for handling the situation very well and congratulated UConn.
Hurley responded to his post on the platform, “From the 🐐 of 🦓’s” calling him the greatest game official.
Dan Hurley said Roger Ayers is Easy to Work With
Hurley’s moment with Ayers on the sideline went viral on social media. The popularity of the clip led to several debates about what Hurley did and whether it was justified to do so.
While others took it more seriously, Hurley believes it wasn’t something to dissect, as he was just celebrating his team’s win.
“Really, at that point in the game, we had it won,” Hurley said. “And [Ayers is] such an easy guy to work with during the game, that I thought he was coming over to chest-bump me to celebrate the shot.
Based on his response, Hurley didn’t have any issues with Ayers at that moment. As for his reaction, those who watched the game understood it deserved a loud celebration.
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