For the third time in the Dan Hurley era, the UConn Huskies will be one of the last two teams standing.
The Huskies punched their ticket to the national championship game by taking down the Illinois Fighting Illini 71-62. Notably, the win was a much-needed break for the program after their heartbreaking loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks in the Women’s Final Four.
That’s why Coach Hurley made sure to pay his respects to those who came before him and fellow Huskies legend coach Geno Auriemma, in his sideline interview post-game:
“You set up for success at UConn,” Hurley told CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson. “You know, Geno Auriemma, Jim Calhoun, Kevin Ollie, just some incredible coaches before me, got the best staff in the country, got an incredible group of players, and there’s nothing like the bus ride on Monday night going to the stadium when you’re one of the last two teams standing.”
Hurley is usually quite intentional with his statements, and it doesn’t seem coincidental that he named Auriemma, given that he’s facing serious backlash for his post-game exchange with Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley.
Granted, he’s one of the greatest coaches in college basketball history and definitely deserves his flowers, and he’s helped raise the bar at UConn even more than anybody in the men’s program. Still, the timing was somewhat suspicious.
The Huskies will play for their seventh men’s national championship, the third in the past four years and the third under Hurley’s eight-year tenure. They’ve gone a perfect 6-0 in title games, and Hurley has an opportunity to become one of the winningest coaches in March Madness history on Monday.
As for Auriemma, the women’s team lost a true star in Azzi Fudd, but they should be just fine and back in the Final Four next season with Sarah Strong at the helm and a coach determined to get back at Staley.
