UConn head coach Dan Hurley is no stranger to heated moments on the court, so it was in character when he had a dramatic exchange with a referee on Sunday, March 29, during the team’s 73-72 win over Duke.
In the UConn Huskies and Duke Blue Devils game, freshman Braylon Mullins threw a three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left to pull off the upset over the top-seeded Duke in the Elite Eight. After the shot, Hurley came right up to the face of a referee, even though there was still 0.4 seconds left on the clock. Even though he came into contact with a referee before the game was officially over, he wasn’t given a technical foul.
Following the incident, sports voices weighed in. Former Wisconsin star Sam Dekker took to X to say, “I have no bias here. This is a tech 10/10 times. For multiple reasons… it would have lost the game for his team and he would have tried to fight the officials like he did nothing wrong. I just don’t understand it at all. Also, referees need to grow a spine in instances like this.”
Former NFL official Terry McAulay also commented, stating on X, “Under no circumstances should behavior like this go unpenalized, regardless of the sport or game situation. Not unexpected by this coach. Deeply disappointed the official didn’t do his job.”
Official Involved in UConn Huskies Coach Dan Hurley’s Incident Says It Wasn’t a Big Deal
Now, the referee is speaking out. Roger Ayers, the official that Hurley approached after the game, said the exchange was “absolutely nothing,” according to ESPN’s Seth Greenberg.
“I talked to Roger [Ayers] today. He said, ‘What are you talking about?’ He literally didn’t know what I was talking about,” Greenerg said on SportsCenter on Monday, March 30. “He said, ‘Nothing happened. The ball went in, I was running back, they were celebrating. Danny leaned in to say something to me, I said something to him, it was absolutely nothing.’”
Hurley hasn’t made it clear if he had issues with with the officiating in the game. The Huskies got foul penalties more than the Blue Devils, but it was close in number, and in the end, UConn obviously won the game.
Dan Hurley and Referee Have a History Together, Report States
Seth Davis of Hoops HQ said of the moment, “Just for context … the referee is Roger Ayers, who has worked multiple Final Fours. Known for his toughness and also sense of humor. This struck me as Hurley messing with a buddy more than intimidating a ref. This is after Mullins’ shot, so Hurley was obviously not mad at the refs.”
While Hurley is known for having these moments with refs, he thinks he was better this season. “For the most part, I think I’ve been a pretty good boy this year,” Hurley said on the Pat McAfee Show before the game.
He added, “My behavior’s been pretty good. Even in that situation, I didn’t touch him. I never made contact with the official. There was actually never contact made, the official said that. Again, that was quite a long time ago.”
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