UConn’s Dan Hurley Addresses Trash Talk With Providence Fans After Blowout Win

The Huskies coach offered some advice postgame.
UConn’s Dan Hurley Addresses Trash Talk With Providence Fans After Blowout Win
UConn’s Dan Hurley Addresses Trash Talk With Providence Fans After Blowout Win /

Some NCAA basketball title defenses can quickly spiral into letdowns. Remember, for instance, North Carolina’s 20–17 slog in 2010 after winning it all in ‘09?

This season, UConn has deftly sidestepped any notion of a championship hangover. The Huskies are 28–3—the team’s highest winning percentage since their 1999 national title campaign—and appear a lock for a top seed in this month’s NCAA men’s tournament.

Beyond that, UConn is winning with style—thanks in part to combustible coach Dan Hurley.

On Saturday, Hurley exchanged pleasantries with Providence fans during the Huskies’ 74–60 win in Rhode Island. He detailed the nature of his conversations after the game.

“You shouldn’t be yelling at me when you’re down 20. You should just wait for the game to be over and walk out. If he wasn’t barking at me, I wouldn’t have said anything to him,” Hurley said.

UConn trailed the Friars 15–2 before turning the tables on their New England rivals.

“A fan was saying, ‘You suck, you guys haven’t won anything.’ And I told him, ‘I’ve got a national championship ring,’” Hurley continued.

The Huskies, of course, defeated San Diego State 76–59 to win the national championship on April 3, 2023.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .