© Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Anybody who pays attention to college basketball knows that UConn Huskies coach Dan Hurley isn’t always the biggest fan of referees.
Hurley, who has reached the NCAA Tournament Championship Game in three of the last four seasons, claiming two victories in the process, is well known for his criticism of officials.
The Huskies were called for 22 fouls in Monday night’s game against Michigan, nearly double the 13 that the Wolverines were called for, and attempted just 16 free throws compared to 28 for Michigan.
But Hurley was surprisingly full of praise for the refs afterward.
Dan Hurley Praises NCAA Tournament Championship Game Referees
“It’s not the reason why we lost the game,” Hurley said of the foul discrepancy. “Obviously plus-13 at the free-throw line, plus-12 in attempts. I just thought that the first half foul trouble really — I thought we were positioned if we didn’t have that foul trouble to potentially go into halftime with a lead. You go in with a lead and they make a run, you’re down five instead of 11. But we also, too, a problem for our team has been undisciplined fouling at times.”
Dan Hurley on the officiating 👀
“It’s hard to ref that game. We both played so hard… If I could have those three guys ref every game the rest of my career, I would sleep well at night.” pic.twitter.com/6UHRdWJ0qo
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) April 7, 2026
But Hurley went one step further, heaping praise on the officiating crew.
“It’s hard to ref that game,” Hurley said. “We both played so hard. That’s not an easy game to officiate. If I could have those three guys ref every game the rest of my career, I would sleep well at night.”
Those comments are a far cry from what people expected, and showed that while Hurley can certainly be a hot head, he is capable of both class and perspective in the face of defeat.