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The officials at the 2024 Maui Invitational likely aren’t going to get many holiday cards from UConn head coach Dan Hurley.
Hurley was issued a critical technical foul in the final minute of Monday’s overtime loss to Memphis when he protested an over-the-back call against Liam McNeeley. That was surely on his mind Tuesday when officials did not call a potential over-the-back foul on Colorado as it grabbed an offensive rebound to keep a possession alive in the final 30 seconds.
UConn assistant coaches had to hold Hurley back from protesting too much after Tuesday’s no-call, and the coach was surely even more upset when that possession ended with Colorado scoring what proved to be the winning basket in a 73-72 victory.
Hurley called Tuesday’s no-call “more egregious” and “ironic,” although he blamed his team’s “dreadful” defense for the loss:
The Field of 68 @TheFieldOf68
Dan Hurley postgame:
“Today’s (no-call) felt more egregious. The kid pulled Liam McNeeley’s arm down. I saw the replay of it. It’s obviously ironic. But that’s not why I think we lost. Our defense has been just, so dreadful. Just so dreadful.” pic.twitter.com/V3iuN5ljnK
That he blamed the defense and not the officials for the end result was a change from Monday’s outcome.
After all, he was asked if he believed his technical foul and the ensuing two free throws cost his team the game against Memphis since the Tigers won by two points and told reporters, “I think it was the s–tty calls. I would expect to come to play in an event, and I don’t know too many back-to-back national championship teams that get that type of a whistle.”
He didn’t stop there and continued to criticize the officials in the aftermath of Monday’s loss:
The Field of 68 @TheFieldOf68
Dan Hurley’s thoughts on today’s officiating:
“I had a lot of issues with what went on. That over-the-back call… there was a Memphis player that made a half-ass effort, Liam McNeeley high-pointed the rebound, and for that call to be made… was a complete joke. I may have lost… pic.twitter.com/w5AxFsZF5d
Yet Tuesday’s game felt different.
While an over-the-back call would have been a key development at that time considering there were fewer than 30 seconds remaining and the Huskies had a one-point lead, that one no-call didn’t determine the outcome of the entire game.
Rather, UConn blew a double-digit lead against a team it was expected to defeat. Had it not taken its proverbial foot off the pedal and allowed the Buffaloes back into the game, the no-call wouldn’t have taken on as much importance.
The Huskies also still had the lead when Colorado came down with the controversial offensive rebound. They still had the opportunity to get a defensive stop to clinch the win but instead allowed Andrej Jakimovski to drive the lane and score the winning basket.
Hurley’s team also could have scored in the final seconds after Jakimovski’s basket, but Hassan Diarra’s three-pointer didn’t fall.
The head coach himself recognized the defense that allowed Colorado to shoot 51.1 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from deep was a bigger problem than the officials in the outcome of the game.
Fortunately for the Huskies, they still have plenty of time to turn things around this season even with back-to-back losses in the early going.
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