Just like women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma, the UConn Huskies male counterpart, Dan Hurley, also seemed unhappy with the officiating in the NCAA Tournament.
Hurley’s UConn suffered a 69-63 defeat in the NCAA Championship game against the Michigan Wolverines. UConn had more fouls (22 vs 13) as Michigan had a huge edge at the free-throw line. Hurley was yelling at referees late in the game, including a viral moment shouting:
“Don’t turn your back on me!”
Despite the loss, Hurley praised the officials postgame instead of blaming them for the loss. When asked about officiating in the post-game interview, the UConn head coach burst out laughing, joking:
“Can I get fined, or at least him?”
He also joked that it was an “all-star group of referees.” It’s unclear whether Hurley was really appreciating the officials or was saying it in a sarcastic tone.
Dan Hurley Defends Referees Despite Free Throw Disparity
The UConn vs Michigan NCAA Championship game was intense and physical, making the job of the referees even more difficult. Despite UConn failing to get as many fouls as Michigan, Dan Hurley didn’t blame the referees, citing that the game was difficult.
“It’s such a physical game; Michigan is so physical. And again, it’s not the reason why we lost the game, obviously,” Hurley said. “A problem for our team has been this undisciplined fouling at times. It’s hard to ref that game, we both played so hard.”
“That’s not an easy game to officiate, and if I could have those three guys ref every game the rest of my career, I would sleep well at night,” Hurley added.
Hurley’s measured response suggests that while he is unhappy about the foul trouble he’s guys got into, there was no reason to take it out on the officiating. The response was in stark contrast to his women’s basketball counterpart, Geno Auriemma, who pinned the blame on officials for poor decisions in the Final Four loss against the South Carolina Gamecocks.
With the loss, Hurley missed winning his third national championship in four years.
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