UConn's Dan Hurley on Gonzaga's offense: 'Our defense will face its greatest challenge'

UConn's coach compared Gonzaga to Big East opponent Xavier

LAS VEGAS — Ahead of Gonzaga's Elite 8 showdown against UConn, Huskies head coach Dan Hurley addressed the media to preview the matchup. 

Hurley was very complimentary of Mark Few and Gonzaga. Here's some of what UConn's head coach had to say on Friday. Watch the full interview above. 

Hurley on his overall thoughts on Gonzaga:

"We obviously know their quality. One of the best teams in the country. And they have been one of the best teams in the country in recent memory. Excited about the game. Obviously it's a great challenge."

Hurley on Gonzaga's program:

"They hit the mark across the board -- player development, the culture, the winning, Final Fours, putting guys in the NBA. They do it with a culture that's widely respected. I have great respect for what they've been able to do in their career and how they've done it. Obviously Mark's one of those guys I have a lot of respect for."

On the challenged that Gonzaga present:

"Yeah, the No. 1 offense in the country. And it's a tremendous challenge because, first of all, the pace that they come at you with, in terms of how quickly they get the ball reversed from side to side, how quickly they get the ball down the court on makes, misses, your ball screen defense is stressed, low post defense is stressed. They've got all types of shooting on the perimeter. Versatility. They've got great depth at guard. So our defense will face its greatest challenge. And they play in a similar way to Xavier, which I don't know how good of news that is for us because we didn't -- we had trouble guarding them. But they play a very similar offensive style to something that we were able to see twice during the course of the year in terms of their spacing and how they attack you."