UConn's Dan Hurley Addresses Ejection Drama After Marquette Loss
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The final seconds at Fiserv Forum ended in chaos for the UConn Huskies and Dan Hurley.
The Huskies closed their regular season with a 68–62 loss to Marquette. UConn struggled offensively, shooting only 35.6 percent from the field and 3-of-24 from beyond the arc. Additionally, they also had 16 turnovers.
Despite the game on court falling apart, the most talked-about moment came from the sidelines. Hurley was ejected in the final second following a heated exchange with officials. Hurley erupted toward veteran referee John Gaffney, drawing two technical fouls for aggressively confronting the official.
With one second remaining, Hurley was tossed from the game as Marquette converted free throws to secure the win. The most serious question after the ejection was whether Hurley had made physical contact with Gaffney during the heated exchange. And Hurley himself had answers soon after the game.
“I thought I got close to yelling at John. I mean, if John thinks I bumped him, then he'll say I bumped him, but I don't think that I bumped the official. I think I yelled into the back of his head, ‘Foul, foul,'" said Hurley. "And then, yeah, I mean, listen, the officiating for us, it is what it is. In this league, I'm not going to comment on that.”
After the game, the Big East released a statement backing up Hurley, noting that a review of the officials’ report and game footage could not confirm physical contact between Hurley and Gaffney. As a result, Hurley was fined $25,000 for unsportsmanlike conduct and his late-game confrontation with the officiating crew. Hurley will also not face suspension or further disciplinary action.
Next up, Huskies Head to Big East Tournament
The timing of the loss is particularly intriguing, considering the postseason play is right around the corner. Despite the loss, UConn still finished second in the Big East standings and will enter the 2026 Big East Tournament as the No. 2 seed.
The bracket is locked in! 🔒
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See you 🔜 at the 2026 BIG EAST Men's Basketball Tournament presented by JEEP. pic.twitter.com/gpdHWK0MKD
Meanwhile, St. John’s, a team the Huskies have a split record with this season, has claimed the outright regular-season title and the top seed after winning against Seton Hall. The Huskies will now wait until the quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden, where they will face the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 7 Marquette and No. 10 Xavier.
That also means there could be a potential immediate rematch on the horizon with the same Marquette team that just snapped UConn’s six-game winning streak in the series. Villanova, meanwhile, secured the No. 3 seed under first-year head coach Kevin Willard, while Seton Hall landed the No. 4 spot and will face Creighton in the quarterfinals.
-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.