Dan Hurley failed to win his third national championship with the UConn Huskies on Monday. Despite high expectations, they suffered a 63-69 loss at the hands of the Michigan Wolverines, who clinched their first natty since 1989.
After the game, South Carolina Gamecocks superfan Plies took to social media with a jab at UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma. He highlighted how Dan Hurley did not act like his counterpart despite the loss, referring to Auriemma’s verbal altercation with Dawn Staley in the Final Four.
“At least he didn’t act like his b***h azz homeboi after he lost!!!” Plies said.
South Carolina took on UConn in the women’s Final Four game. Geno Auriemma and his team were favored to win because of their undefeated streak. However, the Gamecocks booked their spot in the season finale with a 62-48 victory.
During the postgame handshake, the UConn coach said something to Staley that she did not like. This resulted in a heated verbal exchange on the sidelines, which needed the intervention of the officials and other members of both teams’ staffs.
Auriemma received a lot of backlash for his outburst and behavior. He later released a statement apologizing for his mistake.
“There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina. It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut,” the statement read. “I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don’t want my actions to detract from that.
“I’ve got a great relationship with their staff, and I sincerely want to apologize to them.
Dan Hurley also commented on Auriemma’s outburst, joking that he’s had a negative influence on him. However, he also showcased his support for him
“Obviously, I’ve had a negative influence on Geno,” Hurley said. “And it’s crazy, ’cause Geno’s helped me so much, and now, I’ve — no, I mean, Geno is — the way he handled the whole thing, such a standup guy, with the way he handled it with the statement, and he’s one of the classiest people.
“And if anyone should get the benefit of the doubt, in a world of sports, it’s Geno Auriemma. Cause he’s one of the most authentic, genuine, great people you’ll ever meet in your life.”
Dan Hurley shares his thoughts on losing to Michigan in the national championship showdown
In the postgame presser, Dan Hurley shared his thoughts after failing to emerge as this season’s champions. He remained calm and collected while admitting that Michigan was the better team on the court.
“I’m not real emotional,” Hurley said as per Yahoo Sports. “The players are crying a lot more than I am. We lost the game because we missed. We didn’t make enough shots. It’s hard to be disappointed with your team when they fight so hard.
“Eventually, it will hit you that you were close to pulling off what would’ve been a historic third championship, but this team gave us so much this year. Just didn’t take enough shots.”
Dan Hurley won his last championship with the Huskies during the 2023-24 season.
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Edited by Priyam Hazarika
