UConn head coach Dan Hurley had a bizarre moment with a referee in the aftermath of Braylon Mullins’ game-winning shot against Duke on Sunday.
In the chaos following Mullins’ make in the Huskies 73-72 win over Duke at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., officials stopped to make sure the clock was correct and went over to report to Hurley after making a minor adjustment. Hurley, rather bafflingly, went face-to-face with the official and seemingly bumped heads with him, though the UConn coach never actually said anything.
Dan Hurley returned to his factory settings just seconds after Mullins’ shot
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 30, 2026
pic.twitter.com/4Hr8V8cMOU
The interaction gained notice after the game. Some, including longtime professional basketball player Sam Dekker, argued that Hurley should have been assessed a technical foul for making contact with an official, even though that would have potentially swung the game back to Duke.
I have no bias here.
— Sam Dekker (@dekker) March 30, 2026
This is a tech 10/10 times. For multiple reasons… it would have lost the game for his team and he would have tried to fight the officials like he did nothing wrong. I just don’t understand it at all.
Also, referees need to grow a spine in instances like… https://t.co/Zo053LZpn1
Hurley has a lengthy history of losing his cool with officials. In this moment, he had no real reason to complain, as his team had just taken the lead and left Duke with virtually no time to take it back. Of course, had Hurley been given a technical in that spot, a crazy ending would have been even crazier, and the officials would have been accused of trying to hand the game to the Blue Devils.
At least a tech there would have been much more legitimate than the call Duke’s radio announcer was looking for after the shot.
