Dan Hurley Ejected in Last Second of UConn's Stunning Loss to Marquette

An irate Hurley appeared to make contact with referee John Gaffney moments before his ejection.

Hurley's Huskies were upset by Marquette, one of the worst teams in the Big East. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

UConn men's basketball coach Dan Hurley got his money's worth in the waning seconds of his team's stunning 68-62 loss to unranked Marquette on Saturday, as he was ejected with less than a second remaining in the game.

With just 10 seconds to go, UConn was trailing by two points and had a chance to tie the game or take the lead as guard Silas Demary Jr. dribbled up the court with some urgency. Demary went up for layup, where he was met in the air by Golden Eagles forward Ben Gold. There was a bit of contact, but Gold appeared to stay pretty vertical. No foul was called. In response, Hurley immediately got in referee John Gaffney's face, even appearing to bump the official.

CHAOS AT THE END OF MARQUETTE AND UConn 😱

Dan Hurley is ejected with just under 1 second left to play! pic.twitter.com/znrwGEPpLo

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 7, 2026

Dan Hurley made contact with John Gaffney as he was getting ejected 😳pic.twitter.com/JY8EPe2M54

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 7, 2026

As expected, Hurley received a rather raucous farewell from the Golden Eagles fans at Fiserv Forum.

Hurley's ejection was brewing earlier in the UConn-Marquette game

Hurley, an expressive personality who is never afraid to let the referees know what he thinks of the job they're doing, was already at odds with this officiating crew earlier in the contest. With 15:39 remaining in the second half, Huskies center Tarris Reed Jr., who was boxed out by Marquette forward Caeden Hamilton, attempted to fight for the rebound but made contact with Hamilton. Reed was whistled for his third of four eventual fouls, immediately setting off Hurley. The Huskies coach could be seen jawing at referee Greg Evans as the broadcast went to a television timeout.

Dan Hurley goes off at referee Greg Evans (And we'll probably hear about it in the postgame press conference).

UConn-Marquette is in the second half on Fox, with Tim Brando on the play-by-play. 🏀🦓🎙️pic.twitter.com/NoHXVfQVD4

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 7, 2026

Aside from his back-and-forth with the officiating crew, Hurley had to be frustrated with how his team played. The Huskies offense went ice cold, as they shot 36% from the field and made just 3 of 24 three-point attempts. UConn also stalled out 16 of its offensive possessions with turnovers.

What could UConn's loss mean for its NCAA tournament seeding?

UConn was positioned as a No. 1 seed in Sports Illustrated's latest bracket projection earlier this week, courtesy of Kevin Sweeney. It's possible that the Huskies' loss to Marquette bumps them off of the 1-seed line and down to a 2-seed, especially if the projected No. 2 seed, the Florida Gators, wins out. The selection committee already indicated that they'd penalize the Huskies for such a loss to an unranked opponent, as they did just that in their initial Top-16 seed reveal earlier in February following the Huskies' upset loss to Creighton.

However, the selection committee will also have to consider the two programs' head-to-head history this season, for the Huskies defeated the Gators on Dec. 9. One thing is clear. UConn's hopes to secure a No. 1 seed certainly took a big hit Saturday.

Could Hurley face discipline after ejection, apparent contact with referee?

The Big East could take action against Hurley, potentially in the form of a fine or suspension, for his apparent contact with the official. NCAA rules state that anyone who “disrespectfully contacts an official” or attempts to “make physical contact with an official” shall be ejected and also faces a suspension in the team's ensuing game. That means Hurley is at risk of missing the start of the conference tournament, should such a suspension come down. Hurley, for his part, denied that any such contact occurred while speaking to reporters after the game.

“I don't think I bumped the ref,” Hurley said, according to David Borges. “ I thought I got close to yelling at John. If John thinks I bumped him, he'll say I bumped him. I think I yelled into the back of his head, 'Foul! Foul!”

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