UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley has developed a reputation as a bit of a hot-head over the years. And unfortunately, this reared its ugly head yet again at a key moment in their matchup in the Maui Invitational against the Memphis Tigers.
With 40 seconds remaining in overtime in a 92-92 tie game, UConn forward Liam McNeeley attempted to get an offensive rebound off of a missed three-point attempt for Alex Karaban.
McNelley was able to sky over PJ Carter for the rebound and a putback attempt to take the lead, but was called for an over-the-back foul, giving free throw attempts to Memphis with both teams in the bonus.
Dan Hurley was incensed by the call, screaming at the official who made the call as he went over the scorer’s table, seemingly dropping numerous F-bombs towards him. This was enough to get him called for a technical foul, giving Memphis four total free throws.
UConn coach Dan Hurley goes ballistic on the refs after a controversial over-the-back call in OT. Hurley gets T’d up. Huskies go on to lose the game by 2. pic.twitter.com/aBVIjqYp7A
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 25, 2024
The call itself was a pretty ticky-tack call on paper. McNeeley seemingly went over the Memphis player instead of going through his body to grab the rebound. But there was contact made which was deemed enough to make the call.
If Hurley had simply stood by and said nothing about the call, Memphis would have still been in good shape to come away with the win. But his technical on top of the foul resulted in four points for Memphis, which was too much for UConn to overcome.
UConn would go on to lose the game 99-97, the exact deficit that came as a result of Hurley’s technical foul. So clearly, his sideline outburst played a pretty significant factor in the loss, their first loss as a program since last February dating back to last season.
After the game, Hurley spoke to reporters about the questionable call and his technical foul, again sharing his frustration with the call by calling it a “complete joke.”
“I had a lot of issues with what went on. That over-the-back call at that point of the game… There was no attempt to block out. There was a player on Memphis who made a half-assed effort to rebound that basketball. And Liam McNeeley high-pointed the rebound. For that call to be made at that point in the game was a complete joke.
“I might have lost my balance by the absurdity of the call. Or maybe I tripped. But if I made that call at that point, I would have ignored the fact that I was on my back. If I made that call, I would have ignored that. That was a major… How you can call that while that game was going on the way that game was going on the way that game was going on is just beyond me. I’ve never seen the one ref before. I didn’t even know he was a college ref. I’m familiar with the other two, so I’m not surprised.”
Dan Hurley’s thoughts on today’s officiating:
“I had a lot of issues with what went on. That over-the-back call… there was a Memphis player that made a half-ass effort, Liam McNeeley high-pointed the rebound, and for that call to be made… was a complete joke. I may have lost… pic.twitter.com/w5AxFsZF5d
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) November 25, 2024
The call did loom large in shifting the momentum of the game. But so did Hurley’s avoidable outburst after the fact, which he has yet to acknowledge.
Hurley has managed to win back-to-back national championships as the head coach of the Huskies. So maybe his passionate coaching style is exactly why he finds success at the program. However, that same passion backfired on him in this matchup, whether he agreed with the officiating or not.
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