UConn’s Dan Hurley slams referee for ‘outrageous’ call-in loss

UConn’s Dan Hurley slams referee for ‘outrageous’ call-in loss

Dan Hurley was there again.

The UConn basketball coach complained about the referees for the second straight day after the Huskies suffered a decisive loss to Colorado at the Maui Invitational on Tuesday night.

UConn lost consecutive games for the first time since 2022 when they lost 73-72 to the Buffaloes.

Connecticut assistant basketball coach Kimani Young (right) holds off head coach Dan Hurley during a timeout in UConn’s 73-72 loss to Colorado on Nov. 26, 2024. Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

Hurley was upset by an offensive rebound that Colorado’s Trevor Baskin knocked down by Liam McNeely with 24 seconds left in the game.

McNeely was called for an over-the-back foul on Monday against Memphis in the exact same spot, leading to a controversial turn of events.

“It obviously has a big impact on the game. If it’s over the back, of course we go to the free throw line,” Hurley said of the play that had the Huskies leading 72-71. “Maybe we’ll do a one-on-one. I don’t even know what the bad situation was like back then. I’m just talking about how the last two days went for us. The biggest play of the game yesterday was an over-the-back that was whistled against us. Today was even worse because the boy – Baskin – pulled Liam’s arm down. I’ve seen the replay of this. It’s ironic.”

UConn head coach Dan Hurley reacts to the play during his team’s loss to Colorado at the Lahaina Civic Center. Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

Hurley added that his team’s defense was the bigger problem in the end.

Baskin’s rebound allowed the Buffaloes to call a timeout with 20 seconds left in the game.

Colorado forward Trevor Baskin (6) calls a timeout while being guarded by Connecticut forward Liam McNeeley. Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

Hurley had to be restrained by assistant Kimani Young during the timeout as he was angry about what had just happened.

Andrej Jakimovski scored the go-ahead goal with eight seconds left to lead Colorado to victory.

On Monday night, Hurley insulted a referee and made a technical error of his own before later calling the call against McNeely a “complete joke” when speaking to reporters.

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