UConn Huskies coach Dan Hurley said there was no confrontation intended in the moment that drew widespread attention following his team’s Elite Eight win over the Duke Blue Devils.
Hurley addressed the sequence — in which he pressed his forehead against referee Roger Ayers — during an appearance on The Triple Option podcast after the game.
“At that point in the game, we had it won,” Hurley said. “He’s such an easy guy to work with during the game that I thought he was coming over to chest bump me to celebrate the shot.”
The play came after Braylon Mullins made a 35-foot 3-pointer to cap a 19-point comeback, lifting UConn to a 73-72 victory over Duke in the Elite Eight.
Hurley Says Interaction Was Misinterpreted
Video of Hurley leaning into Ayers circulated on social media after the game, prompting questions about whether the contact should have resulted in a technical foul.
Hurley said the moment was not confrontational.
“That, in no way, was like me and a ref that I had been at their throat the whole game,” Hurley said. “Other points of the game, I had my arm around him walking out of the timeout. We were cracking jokes and laughing.”
Hurley added that Ayers approached him to communicate the remaining time on the clock.
“He was just coming up to tell me there was point 0.3 or 0.4 on the clock,” Hurley said. “I was still so hyped from the shot going in.”
No Technical Foul Assessed
No technical foul was called on the play.
Under NCAA rules, a Class A technical foul can be issued if a coach makes disrespectful or intimidating contact with an official. Officials have discretion to determine intent based on the interaction.
Hurley said there was no intent to intimidate or disrespect the official.
Referee Also Downplays Exchange
The referee’s account aligned with Hurley’s explanation.
According to ESPN’s Seth Greenberg, who said he spoke with Ayers after the game, the official did not consider the exchange significant.
“I talked to Roger today. He said, ‘What are you talking about?’” Greenberg said. “He literally didn’t know what I was talking about.”
Greenberg added that Ayers described the moment as part of the game’s closing sequence.
“He said, ‘Nothing happened. The ball went in. I was running back. They were celebrating. Hurley leaned in, said something to me. I said something to him. It was absolutely nothing.’”
UConn Turns Focus to Final Four
With the situation addressed publicly, Hurley and the Huskies have shifted their attention to preparation for the NCAA Final Four.
UConn advanced with the 73-72 comeback win over Duke and is scheduled to play on Saturday in the national semifinals against Illinois.
The Huskies have been one of the most consistent teams in the tournament, combining defensive discipline with late-game execution, and will look to carry that form into the Final Four as they pursue another national title.
As the tournament moves forward, the focus for Hurley’s program now turns from the closing moments of the Elite Eight to the next stage of its postseason run.
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