“It was the sh*tty calls”: Dan Hurley blames referees for UConn loss and not his OT technical
UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley is placing the blame for their 99-97 overtime loss to Memphis on Monday night squarely on the officiating. In a report by CBS Sports, Hurley isn't convinced that his overtime technical foul was the decisive factor in UConn's first loss after a 17 consecutive wins dating back to February of this year.
"I think it was the shi*ty calls. I would expect to come to play in an event, and I don't know too many back-to-back national championship teams that get that type of a whistle," Hurley said.
The now infamous OT technical call occured with less than 40 seconds left in the ball game, with Hurley heckling at a referee before subsequently falling to the ground on his back. These seqeuences were his reactions to an over-the-back foul called on bigman Liam McNeeley as he was trying to get a putback off from Memphis' PJ Carter.
Aware of his actions towards the game's officials, Hurley jokingly said:
"What I gave the cameras today was Oppenheimer."
The fouls on both McNeeley and Hurley awarded the Tigers and head coach Penny Hardaway four freebies, extending Memphis' lead to 96-92. After a couple of free throws from each team, the score stood at 98-94. UConn guard Hassan Diarra then narrowed the gap to two points with two successful free throws.
Overtime turned into a free-throw battle, with Tigers' Colby Rodgers stepping to the line. He made one of two attempts, giving UConn a slim chance to tie the game at 99-96 with about five seconds left on the clock.
Memphis resorted to fouling immediately after the ball was inbounded, sending Diarra back to the charity stripe. The fifth-year guard made the first attempt and intentionally missed the second, hoping for a rebound and a potential game-tying three-pointer. However, the three-point attempt fell short.
99-97 was the final score as the final buzzer sounded with Memphis picking up their fifth-straight win against an AP-ranked opponent since the beginning of last season.
UConn (4-1) now drops to the loser's bracket of the Maui Invitational, where they will face the Colorado Buffaloes on Tuesday, November 26, after their 72-56 loss to Michigan State.
There were still bright spots for the Huskies in their shocking loss
For a team looking to go for an illustrious championship three-peat, the journey seems to have gotten harder now that UConn is missing players from its title-winning seasons as they have moved on to the NBA and other professional leagues.
This is why performances such as the one that third-year center Tarris Reed Jr. pulled off from the bench is of utmost importance to their 2024-2025 campaign.
Reed Jr. had his best game of the season, scoring a team-high 22 points and dominating the interior defense with 11 rebounds and three blocks.
If the Huskies are to win again this year, they will need contributions from all players on their roster.