Dan Hurley Reacts to UConn's 3-Point Struggles
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The UConn Huskies are heading back to another Final Four this season. In their last game, the Huskies took down Duke 73-72 after managing to make a 19-point comeback in the second half. It was, hands down, one of the most memorable Elite Eight wins in recent history.
While the game was thrilling for the most part, the Huskies stepped up their defense only in the second half. Additionally, the Huskies had one of the worst 3-point shooting nights. It was so bad that Dan Hurley was surprised to hear how poorly his team shot to start the game.
“What the H--- did you just say? 1-for-18. I knew it was bad. And I kept asking the assistant coaches, and no one would tell me what it was. I knew it was bad,” said Hurley.
It is a fair reaction considering that the Huskies shot 5-of-23 from three and had an awful 1-of-18 start. Alex Karaban and Braylon Mullins combined to go 0-for-9 from deep for the first 39 minutes. Then suddenly, in the final minute, both connected. Karaban managed to cut the deficit to one, and Mullins made a near 40-footer with 0.4 seconds left to win it.
“Listen, I thought a lot of them were pretty good looks. You're not going to get great looks versus Duke or a great defense. When you play great defenses, the windows are tighter,” added Hurley.
Interestingly, Hurley was not blaming the shot selection. UConn believed the shots were there, even if the results weren’t. Silas Demary Jr. hit two key threes during the comeback, finishing with 11 points, while Solo Ball went 0-for-5 from deep and Karaban was 1-for-6. Mullins, despite the game-winner, was just 1-for-5 from beyond the arc.
So, who carried the Huskies?
Tarris Reed Jr. dominated inside with 26 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks, becoming the anchor when the perimeter failed. The Huskies leaned into the paint, outscoring Duke 36-24 inside, while forcing 13 turnovers and turning them into 20 points. Hurley even hinted they could’ve leaned more into Reed.
“We were kind of wearing Tarris out in terms of catches and stuff. We could have made him more of a focal point, but if we were going to win the game, we were going to have to make a couple of threes down the stretch because I thought we were getting decent looks. Obviously, Braylon’s look at the end was a bomb. Silas’ looks were clean. I thought we got a lot of good looks. We just, for whatever reason, this team has not shot it well. Solo Ball, Braylon Mullins, AK, those are three of the best shooters in the country. We just haven’t had that shooting magic. But then we did,” added Hurley.
Could the Huskies’ shooting struggles be tied to what Geno Auriemma revealed?
Interestingly, this is not just a men’s game issue. The UConn women’s team also dealt with unusual shooting struggles in their Sweet 16 win over North Carolina, shooting just 4-of-20 from three despite winning.
North Carolina was even worse, hitting just 28.3% from the field and 18.2% from deep in a game filled with missed opportunities. And Geno Auriemma had a surprising explanation for the same.
"You wonder how that happens? You ever noticed when you come to the regionals, they use brand new baskets? These rims have never touched the basketball until now. So it’s hard. You can’t get a ball to go boom boom in. Once that ball hits the rim, it’s going out of bounds. And it’s the weirdest thing,” said Auriemma.
New rims, unfamiliar bounce, and postseason pressure can combine into something players aren’t used to. Auriemma pointed out how it gets in players’ heads, especially when shots that normally fall start rattling out.
And suddenly, UConn’s 1-for-18 start against Duke doesn’t feel that off. Even Duke shot 6-of-15 from 3-point range despite having players like the Boozer brothers, Dame Sarr and Isaiah Evans.
The women’s team still found a way, just like the men, by controlling the paint, forcing turnovers, and staying disciplined. Now, Hurley’s team is back in the Final Four for the third time in four seasons, now set to face Illinois in Indianapolis.
-fd44250df32912986cc6690f0b8bfa32.png "Shivani Menon")
Shivani Menon is a sports journalist with a background in Mass Communication and a passion for storytelling. She has written for EssentiallySports, College Sports Network, and PFSN, covering Olympic sports like track and field, gymnastics, and alpine skiing, as well as college football, basketball, March Madness, and the NBL Draft. When she's not reporting, she's either on the road chasing sunsets or getting lost in the rhythms of electronic soundscapes.