Dan Hurley’s passion got the better of him in the second half of Monday’s national championship game.
The UConn head coach Hurley committed a funny boo-boo with just over three minutes left in the second half of their title-game showdown against Purdue. While trying to get his team to run an offensive set in the halfcourt, Hurley stepped onto the court and physically pushed his own player, UConn guard Cam Spencer, into place.
Take a look at the hilarious moment (with the game’s announcers noting that Hurley must have forgotten that he was in the middle of a game and not a team practice).
https://twitter.com/d9Hoops/status/1777537293177262404
Hurley was whistled for a violation over the push, which happened to occur right in front of the official too. Thus, he pulled off the rare feat of causing his team to commit a turnover … as a head coach.
Of course, Hurley’s folly was a mere footnote thanks to UConn’s dominance in the game. They went on to easily defeat Purdue by a 75-60 final score to capture their second straight national title (and the sixth in school history). UConn also finished their rampaging March Madness run with the best point differential of all-time in a single tournament (+140), having won every single game by 14 points or more.
Hurley coached a great game on Monday too, making a point of selling out to take away the three-point shot and letting Purdue big Zach Edey (who finished with 37) score as many two-pointers down low as he wanted. Also one of the most demonstrative coaches in the sport, that was on full display for Hurley against Purdue. He had the hysterical push of Spencer as well as a heated exchange with Edey earlier in the game.
