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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ask any college basketball fan the first word that comes to mind when they think of Dan Hurley and "positive" might be one of the last.
Fiery? Definitely. Angry? Usually. Hotheaded? Even he would probably agree with that, on occasion.
That's not the Dan Hurley that UConn players heard from when they went to to the locker room trailing by 15 points against Duke on Sunday, nor was it the Dan Hurley they heard from in the waning minutes of the game, when it looked like their comeback effort might come up just short.
Instead, Hurley's positivity set the tone for a team that simply isn't used to trailing by double-digits.
"He didn't scream at us. He told us exactly what we needed to do," guard Malachi Smith told The Sporting News, explaining that the Hurley everyone else sees doesn't align with the Hurley he sees in the locker room. "When we're down, he's always positive. He knows exactly what to say to make sure we're locked in."
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Hurley's tenor set the tone for the entire team going into the second half. "The whole locker room was upbeat, from the coaching staff to the GAs, everyone down," guard Solo Ball said. "Every single time we go into games he's positive. I couldn't play for any other coach in the world."
UConn's comeback wasn't an avalanche. The Huskies cut the deficit to seven, but Duke pushed it back to 11. Then, they cut the deficit to two. Duke pushed it back to five with less than two minutes remaining. The Blue Devils didn't just let the Huskies take it; they had to go get it.
When UConn's chances started to look bleak again down the stretch, Hurley stayed stoic.
"Coach Hurley was definitely poised in those situations, in the timeouts. He told us exactly what we needed to do, setting the right tone," Smith said. "I don't know how we won, but we did it."
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UConn regained the lead with 0.4 seconds remaining, on a miraculous shot by freshman Braylon Mullins off a Duke turnover. The Blue Devils had no time to counter, and the Huskies' 73-72 win secured another trip to the Final Four.
After the win, Mullins echoed Smith and said Hurley's big-game experience mattered in those moments. "Every media timeout, every timeout, just trying to keep the confidence within everybody. He knows what he's doing. He's been through this."
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Hurley has been on this stage before, but UConn's 2023 and 2024 championship teams were defined by the way they toyed with opponents. The Huskies won by double-digits in each of their 12 NCAA Tournament games between the two title runs, averaging a margin of victory higher than 21 points.
Faced with a 19-point deficit against the No. 1 overall seed, Hurley passed another test in the nation's capital. He is now 10-0 in the Sweet 16 or later as a head coach, and the Huskies — now in unfamiliar territory as an underdog in the Final Four — are content to keep blocking out the noise as they lean on their unflappable coach.
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