UConn's Dan Hurley Had Best Advice for Alex Karaban After Missed Free Throws Seal Loss

Delivered in a way only Dan Hurley can.

Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley reacts against the Villanova Wildcats in the first half at William B. Finneran Pavilion. / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Alex Karaban has already had a college basketball career that will put him in the UConn history books. The redshirt junior, now a team captain, has two national championships to his name, starting 77 of the 78 games that the Huskies played during their back-to-back title runs over the last two seasons.

Karaban has had plenty of moments to remember at UConn, but the end of Wednesday's game at Villanova wasn't one of them.

The redshirt junior scored 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, hitting just 2-of-7 threes in the 68–66 loss. Crucially, he missed a pair of free throws with three seconds left in the game and the Huskies trailing the Wildcats by one, sealing No. 9 Connecticut's fourth loss of the season.

Alex Karaban missed BOTH free throws with a chance to win the game... 😳🤯pic.twitter.com/1RHmovR38k

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 9, 2025

After dream runs in '23 and '24, things haven't been as smooth for the Huskies during the first half of this season. UConn famously lost three consecutive games at the Maui Invitational, but would recover to win eight straight before Wednesday's game including its first four Big East games.

After the loss, coach Dan Hurley looked back at that brutal showing in Maui to console his captain after the missed free throws, and he did so in the very self-assured style for he is known.

"Just get off the bus when we get back to campus and do what I did after Maui: Just pull your box of rings out and maybe just play with your back-to-back national championship rings and get ready for Georgetown," Hurley said he told Karaban, per Joe Arruda of the Hartford Courant.

"It's like life, sometimes you've got to eat s---. Sometimes you're gonna have bad moments," he added. "His first two years in college have been a fairy tale."

Karaban is having his best collegiate season across the board, averaging 16.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, shooting over 48% from the floor and 42% from three-point range. He leads the team in scoring and blocks per game (1.8).

Given everything Karaban has accomplished in Storrs, Hurley's advice is trenchant.

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