The UConn men’s basketball program has had a rough stretch at the 2024 Maui Invitational. UConn lost two games in a row, first taking a 99-97 loss to Memphis and then a 73-72 defeat to Colorado. As stunning as UConn’s initial defeat was, the Colorado game especially got to head coach Dan Hurley
After the game, Hurley shared his thoughts on his team’s jarring string of performances:
“I just think we’re all shocked. We’re all stunned. With the run that we’ve been on and how well we’ve played, the games are playing out way differently for us and we’ve got to be incredibly strong mentally right now,” Hurley said. via Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.
Dan Hurley understands that the UConn basketball squad must go back to the drawing board and maintain a healthy mindset to bounce back from their losses. Still, he was not happy with the way the officiating went, especially against Memphis:
“I had a lot of issues with what went on. That over-the-back call… there was a Memphis player that made a half-a** effort, Liam McNeeley high-pointed the rebound, and for that call to be made… was a complete joke. I may have lost my balance by the absurdity of the call,” Hurley said after UConn’s first loss, per The Field of 68 on X (formerly Twitter).
Hurley gave a more grounded take following his team’s Colorado loss.
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“Sometimes you’re not getting a great whistle and I don’t think out here we’ve gotten a great whistle, it just hasn’t bounced our way out here that way. It killed us to have so many guys in foul trouble during the game,” the head coach said, per Matt Norlander.
The UConn basketball team might be going through a rough patch, but rest assured they will find a way to cooperate and come back stronger as the 2o24-25 season progresses.
Christopher Smith is a sports journalist who primarily covers the Chicago Sky, NBA, NCAA Basketball, and the NFL for ClutchPoints. The Aurora, Illinois native received his education from Creighton University, and he has bylines at Last Word on Sports and FanSided.