"Dan Hurley is no Bobby Knight", "Next Jake Paul opponent": College hoops fans react to UConn HC's angry moments in loss vs. Colorado
Two-time reigning national champions UConn Huskies continue to falter as they succumbed to Colorado on Monday night by a nail-biting 73-72. UConn, who was 47-3 in their last 50 games before the Maui Invitational, have now suffered back-to-back losses to unranked teams.
In the final moments of the heated matchup, Huskies head coach Dan Hurley was sent into shambles after a no-call on a potential travel by Buffaloes' Trevor Baskin. Since then, fans on social media have criticized Hurley's erratic behavior.
"Dan Hurley is a mad man lmaoooo," one fan reacted.
"Dan Hurley losing it again. What an *ssh*le this guy is," another fan exclaimed.
"Dan Hurley deserves this," another fan posted alluding to Hurley's critcisims of the Invitational's officiating.
Some fans have even described Hurley's reactions as toddler-like, writing:
"Best description of Dan Hurley. An adult toddler."
Others have since compared him to past college basketball coaching legends while another claims he should cross over to boxing.
"Dan Hurley is no Bobby Knight," a fan claimed.
"Feels like Dan Hurley should be the next Jake Paul opponent," another jokingly said.
However, fans are reacting to Hurley's behavior, there is no doubt that the 23-year UConn coach is just reeling in his three-peat aspiring team's second consecutive loss as they fall to 4-2 in the early 2024-2025 season.
The loss puts them in a seventh-place seeding game in the Maui Invitational's consolation bracket, a far cry from the dominating run they were seeking to unfold. Hurley and the rest of the Huskies now await the loser of the Daytona versus Iowa State game to determine their opponent on Thursday, 12 a.m. ET, at the Lahaina Civic Center.
UConn vs. Colorado was a tale of two halves
As the game began, UConn looked to return to winning form after Monday's bitter 99-97 loss to the Memphis Tigers. After the 15-minute first half, the Huskies were leading, 40-32, on a scorching-hot 56% field goal percentage and 50% from three-point territory.
Stalwart Liam McNeeley, bouncing back from his controversial over-the-back foul in the Memphis game, shot the lights out with 16 points as it was a collective team effort to supersede him in points in the first half of play.
It all came crashing down in the second half when the Colorado Buffaloes went on an 11-0 run right from the whistle to take their second lead of the game at that point. Foul trouble would limit UConn's chances to succeed as players like Tarris Reed Jr., who dropped a double-double last game, fouled out after easily producing three points and five rebounds.
Colorado would take advantage of this as their big men continued to rack on points in the paint. Eventually, with UConn up by one, 72-71, Buffaloes forward Andrej Jakimovski would make a tough McNeeley-contested lay-in for the go-ahead shot, 73-72.
Last-ditch efforts from Huskies guard Hassan Diarra in the dying seconds would not produce any points as the final buzzer sounded for a huge Colorado win. The Buffaloes will now meet the winner of the Daytona vs. Iowa State matchup for the fifth-seeding game of the Maui Invitational.