The UConn Huskies have shared a moving video of their locker room talk after their last-second victory on Sunday over the Duke Blue Devils in the Elite Eight round at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The video showed the coaching staff praising everyone on the team for the way they chipped away at Duke’s lead.
The victory came at the very last second of the game with a three-pointer from Braylon Mullins, which left the score 73-72 in favor of the Storrs school. The victory is sending UConn to play the Illinois Fighting Illini in the Final Four, an unlikely achievement by a team that lost the Big East regular-season and tournament titles to the St. John’s Red Storm.
During the video of the postgame locker room talk, Dan Hurley could be seen repeating a mantra that he seems to have instilled in his players:
“Victory is in inches, not miles.”
The idea behind it seems to be that UConn won the game not through big flashy moves, but because they got the basics right, and in the end, that put them in a position to win.
Dan Hurley denies any animosity with official Roger Ayers after the thrilling end of UConn’s victory over Duke
As Braylon Mullins scored the game’s winning three-pointer, pandemonium broke out at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The UConn bench went crazy, including Dan Hurley, who appeared to bump heads with official Roger Ayers.
Fans online took this as a sign of hostility between the coach and the referee, and in the game’s aftermath, many opined that Hurley should’ve been handed a technical foul.
It seems that everyone is confused about what happened. Hurley was just extremely excited, and his emotions got the better of him. At least that’s what he said this week on the “Triple Option” podcast when he explained the now viral incident.
“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.”
UConn will now play Illinois on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in the Final Four. The bookies are not siding either way, with the Fighting Illini being a 1.5 favorite. The ESPN game predictor is much more confident in a victory for the Big Ten school, giving them a 59% chance of advancing to the national title game.
Read more:
Dan Hurley Clears the Air on Head-to-Head Exchange With Referee After Wild Elite Eight Ending
Controversy Brewing as Referee Roger Ayers Gets Snubbed From Final Four Crew
“I Don’t Know If He Got Black in Him”: Gilbert Arenas Hilariously Reacts to Viral Dan Hurley Moment
UConn Veteran Alex Karaban Makes Honest Comment on Dan Hurley’s ‘Psychopath’ Side
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