Dan Hurley Reacts To UConn's 36-Point Victory: 'I Hate Opening Night'
The 2024-25 UConn Huskies treated their fans to an opening night 92-56 blowout of Sacred Heart on Wednesday, but Huskies head coach Dan Hurley was probably the least happy human being in the building.
UConn shot the ball well in the victory — 51.6 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from three (13-of-31), but it was a far-from-perfect performance from the new-look Huskies. In particular, UConn committed 13 turnovers.
There were definitely some first-game jitters for the Huskies, which comes as no surprise. Harry A. Gampel Pavilion was sold out and rocking, and this is a team with immense expectations starting its journey, displaying its potential in public for the first official time (UConn did play one exhibition game, a victory over Rhode Island).
In the postgame presser, Hurley discussed how opening night games are difficult for him, even though he’s now 7-0 on such occasions as UConn’s head coach.
“I think the turnovers were a byproduct of just some opening night bizarre (stuff), and then, you know -- I don't know,” Hurley said.
“I hate opening night. It's like the worst day of the year. I hate it.”
“That will be the thing that drives me out of coaching is how you feel when you wake up on opening night and you have no idea what your team is about to go do. So there you go. Happy it's over.”
UConn has now won 28 straight non-conference home games. Dan Hurley is now 47-6 at Gampel.
None of that matters to Hurley and his team, however. It’s all in the past, and in their eyes, they’ve achieved absolutely nothing yet.
UConn takes the floor again on Saturday, November 9 in a matchup with New Hampshire at the XL Center.
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-6cddf44b9a81eadb9d1a4c19c1b3db49.jpeg "Colin Keane")
Colin Keane is a contributing journalist for "UConn Huskies On SI." Born in Illinois, Colin grew up in Massachusetts as the third of four brothers. For his high school education, Colin attended St. Mark's School (Southborough, MA), where he played basketball and soccer and served as student body president. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Villanova University. Colin currently resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "UConn Huskies On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org