Dan Hurley is a bit of an eccentric character.
He’s very meticulous in how he coaches his UConn Huskies and goes about his day-to-day routine. It was revealed Sunday that Hurley’s wife travels with a portable washing machine so he can continue with the same superstitions, which include wearing the same red dragon underwear and suit as last year.
And to follow up on his win of last year’s nationalchampionship with another, Hurley has finally played the “US against the World” card.
Following his team’s 75-58 win over Northwestern in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, CBS Sports senior writer and analyst Matt Norlander informed Hurley that UConn will have the early tip against San Diego State in Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday.
And the ensuing reaction from Hurley was as if Norlander had told him that the NCAA has prohibited all portable washing machines at this year’s tournament.
“OK, so, it gives me a little bit more ‘Us against the World’ stuff that I can utilize,” said Hurley, “because I do think that the committee has tried to make this as difficult as they can on us to do it. The Florida Atlantic-Northwestern 8-9, obviously, the Auburn, San Diego State, and Illinois, what they look like, with Iowa State.
Even if you think Hurley has a point, the committee was a bit favorable to UConn in terms of the 8-9 matchup. Northwestern was by far the lowest-positioned team in the NET rankings (No. 53) when considering all eight teams. And Florida Atlantic was just three spots at No. 39 ahead of No. 42 TCU.
Despite a tough road ahead, UConn has moved past a 16-seed and a 9-seed. Next up, they face San Diego State for a ticket to the Elite Eight, where either a battle-tested Illinois team or an explosive Iowa State squad awaits.
Sure, the region is stacked, but winning consecutive national championships shouldn’t be easy.
“We know what they had in mind, and it’s just more fuel in the fire,” added Hurley.
[Matt Norlander on Twitter/X]
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.