Somebody might want to check on UConn head coach Dan Hurley. His team just lost a third consecutive game, and he was so stunned by it all that he seemingly couldn’t bear to watch.
The UConn men’s basketball team is GOING THROUGH IT. The back-to-back champs’ time at the Maui Invitational couldn’t have gone worse. The Huskies lost an overtime stunner to Memphis, partly thanks to Dan Hurley’s sideline antics that drew an ill-timed technical foul. Then, they lost to Colorado, and you guessed it — there were more Hurley shenanigans.
But Wednesday’s loss to the Dayton Flyers stunned the UConn coach. As time expired, cameras caught the moment Hurley was on the sidelines, bent down, putting his head into his hands, seemingly trying to wrap his mind around what just happened.
Dan Hurley crying after UConn finishes 8th in an 8 team Maui invitational tournament lmaoo pic.twitter.com/gxmxRHDHT2
On Tuesday against Colorado, he did the same thing but was luckily held back by his coaches before he could get a technical. UConn lost anyway. It might not have been because of their coach, who couldn’t keep his composure. But I’m not not going to say it was because of their coach, who couldn’t keep his composure.
He’s always been an ornery and combative head coach, but come on. As the head coach of a college basketball team, you’re supposed to be the adult in the room. The players are supposed to look to Hurley for guidance, support and direction in tight games.
But there’s a solid chance that if you look over at UConn’s bench during some of these crucial times, you might see a 51-year-old man throwing a tantrum like a six-year-old who didn’t get exactly what he wanted on Christmas Day. It’s a tough look. And certainly one unbecoming of one of the best head coaches in college basketball.
There’s always room for passion and emotion in sports. But there’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed. At least not frequently, anyway. Every once in a while is cool. But Dan Hurley seems to be a habitual line-stepper here.
We’ve already seen it cost his team when the stakes are fairly low. So you can only imagine what things will be like when the games matter most.
So the Dodgers actually can keep getting away with this
Folks. When 2024 Clayton Kershaw might be the afterthought of your rotation, you know the deck is stacked.
The Dodgers are building All-Star teams via deferred money. Snell reportedly has around $62 million of his $182 million, five-year deal coming after the contract expires.
That means they’ve got deferred cash going out to:
Shohei Ohtani ($680 million)
Freddie Freeman ($57 million)
Mookie Betts ($115 million)
Blake Snell ($62 million
Will Smith ($50 million)
Teoscar Hernandez ($8.5 million)
Folks, that’s $972.5 million in deferred cash coming decades after these players finish playing for LA. Nearly a billion dollars! And the offseason is just beginning, so surely, the Dodgers will cross that threshold at some point.
I’m not saying this is something MLB needs to change, but it’s probably worth looking at when the next CBA rolls around.
Mike McCarthy’s life raft
Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
It seems it might not be curtains for Mike McCarthy after all? Jerry Jones told reporters on Tuesday that an extension for the Cowboys’ coach is not out of the question.
“If you’re a Cowboys fan, I suggest you look away now because reading this might infuriate you. All Eagles, Commanders and Giants fans, prepare to have a good laugh because what is about to be shared is profoundly unserious behavior. On Tuesday, while speaking on a local radio station, Jerry Jones revealed that giving Mike McCarthy an extension is not something out of the realm of possibility.
“I don’t think that’s crazy at all,” Jones said. “That’s not crazy. Mike McCarthy’s one outstanding coach…This is a Super Bowl-winning coach. Mike McCarthy has been there and done that. He has great ideas…We got a lot of football left.” Sure, Jerry. Let us know how that works out. It’s fine. It’s not like McCarthy isn’t 1-3 in the playoffs with the Cowboys, and his last Super Bowl wasn’t 14 years ago. HOW ‘BOUT DEM COWBOYS.”
Meg has a point. McCarthy is sort of skating by on past glory right now. It also seems pretty clear this team doesn’t believe in him anymore.
This seems like Jones is just trying to give McCarthy a vote of confidence amid a lost season. But you know what a real vote of confidence would be? An actual contract extension.
Until that happens, nobody should believe this.
Quick hits: Oregon stays on top … QB Rankings … and more
Throughout his coaching career, Dan Hurley has never been one to go easy on the officials. And honestly, officials give him plenty of leeway to complain. But every ref has their limit, and on Monday, Hurley crossed that line at the worst moment.
It essentially lost his team the game in the process.
In the opening round of UConn’s Maui Invitational matchup with Memphis, the Huskies overcame a double-digit deficit in the final 2.5 minutes to force overtime. Momentum was clearly on UConn’s side. But when Liam McNeeley was called for an over-the-back foul, Hurley couldn’t help himself.
Rather than let the (correct) call go in a tie game, Hurley berated the officials. And it doesn’t take expert lip-reading skills to see that Hurley got personal with it too.
— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) November 25, 2024
Hurley was called for the technical, which sent P.J. Carter to the line for four three throws. He made all of them.
What would have been a one-possession game, turned into two just like that. And it had nothing to do with the players on the court. UConn was able to get a final look at the end, but those two points were so costly in the 99-97 loss.
On Wednesday night, plenty of shenanigans were happening to honor Uconn coach Geno Auriemma for his new all-time wins record, including a literal goat. But Paige Bueckers and the team wearing blonde wigs to celebrate Geno’s long-time coaching partner, Chris Dailey, might be the best of the night.
Geno doesn’t reach the top of college basketball’s wins list without receiving help along the way. Someone was there to support him and help UConn become the powerhouse it is. That person is coach Chris Dailey, who has been by Geno’s side for 40 years. YES. FORTY YEARS.
That kind of tenure is invaluable. So, to make sure that Dailey also felt love on such a massive night for the program, Paige Bueckers and UConn wore blonde wigs to a postgame press conference and in the locker room. Of course, as you might suspect, it was Paige’s idea. BRILLIANT.
Here’s when Geno Auriemma could make college basketball history.
UConn head coach Geno Auriemma is on pace to make college basketball history this season. If you’re here, you’re probably wondering when he could break the sport’s all-time wins record.
Here’s the answer: Per Maggie Vanoni of CT Insider, if UConn wins its first four games of the season, Geno will surpass the current record holder Tara VanDerveer (1,216) on November 20 when the Huskies play the FDU Knights, pushing him to 1,217 total career wins.
The fantastic thing is that UConn seemingly expects him to do it that night because several former players will already be on hand that day to celebrate the school’s national championships, and tickets to that game are already sold out.
12 college programs are ranked in the USA TODAY Sports top 25 coaches poll in both men’s and women’s basketball, including UConn in the top five for both.
The 2024-25 college basketball season is under two weeks away, with the UConn Huskies and South Carolina Gamecocks set to defend their national championships in men’s and women’s hoops, respectively.
UConn replaces four of five starters from Dan Hurley’s second straight national championship squad, and the Huskies ranked third in the USA TODAY Sports men’s basketball preseason coaches poll behind Kansas and Alabama.
Meanwhile, Dawn Staley’s South Carolina team was picked first in the women’s poll after an undefeated 38-0 season, just ahead of UConn and USC.
That means UConn had both its men’s and women’s programs inside the top five of the USA TODAY coaches polls, the only school to accomplish said feat and one of 12 to have both programs ranked inside the top 25.
Here is a look at each of those programs, including where they are ranked in each poll as well as conference affiliation:
The USA TODAY Sports preseason women’s basketball coaches poll was released on Thursday. South Carolina, UConn, and USC are leading the way.
The NCAA women’s basketball season will officially tip-off on Monday, Nov. 4. Caitlin Clark might not be on the hardwood at the collegiate level this season but there is still plenty of exciting action that will take place. It will be up to players like JuJu Watkins of the USC Trojans to carry the torch this season.
The defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks check in with the No. 1 spot in the USA TODAY Sports preseason coaches poll after finishing with a perfect 38-0 record under Dawn Staley. It was the first time she achieved perfection after coming close in 2020 and 2023 where South Carolina finished with just one loss in each of those seasons. 2020 ended early when the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19 and the 2023 team’s run at perfection was ended by Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Final Four.
South Carolina is joined by six other teams in the SEC to give them seven altogether. The Gamecocks edged out the UConn Huskies and USC Trojans for the top spot by a substantial margin. These three teams were the only ones to earn first-place votes. UConn will welcome back Paige Bueckers who bypassed the WNBA draft for another run at the title.
2024-25 Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
Rank
School (Last Year’s Record)
Points
First Place Votes
1
South Carolina (38-0)
770
27
2
Connecticut (33-6)
734
3
3
Southern California (29-6)
716
1
4
Texas (33-5)
670
–
5
Notre Dame (28-7)
629
–
6
UCLA (27-7)
612
–
7
LSU (31-6)
567
–
8
North Carolina State (31-7)
533
–
9
Iowa State (21-12)
487
–
10
Oklahoma (23-10)
457
–
11
Duke (22-12)
449
–
12
Baylor (26-8)
434
–
13
Kansas State (26-8)
407
–
14
Ohio State (26-6)
405
–
15
West Virginia (25-8)
285
–
16
North Carolina (20-13)
263
–
17
Louisville (24-10)
261
–
18
Maryland (19-14)
254
–
19
Florida State (23-11)
177
–
20
Creighton (26-6)
150
–
21
Mississippi (24-9)
135
–
22
Kentucky (12-20)
106
–
23
Nebraska (23-12)
92
–
24
Indiana (26-6)
75
–
25
Alabama (24-10)
57
–
Others receiving votes:
Gonzaga (32-4) 49; TCU (21-12) 37; Stanford (30-6) 32; Tennessee (20-13) 32; Iowa (34-5) 28; Utah (23-11) 25; South Dakota State (27-6) 22; Oregon State (27-8) 21; Princeton (25-5) 18; Colorado (24-10) 15; Virginia Tech (25-8) 10; Illinois (19-15) 9; Middle Tennessee (30-5) 8; Fairfield (31-2) 7; California (19-15) 6; Richmond (29-6) 6; Auburn (20-12) 5; Florida Gulf Coast (29-5) 4; Miami (Fla.) (19-12) 4; UNLV (30-3) 4; South Florida (19-14) 3; George Mason (23-8) 2; Cleveland State (29-6) 1; Michigan (20-14) 1; Saint Joseph’s (28-6)
The USA TODAY Sports Board of Coaches is made up of 31 head coaches at Division I institutions. All are members of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. The board for the 2024-25 season: Ashleen Bracey, Illinois-Chicago; Jen Brown, Queens University; Dan Burt, Duquesne; Fred Chmiel, Bowling Green; Janell Crayton Del Rosario, Bethune-Cookman; Denise Dillon, Villanova; Carrie Eighmey, South Dakota; Dalila Eshe, Yale; Heather Ezell, Wyoming; Bill Fennelly, Iowa State; Cindy Fisher, San Diego; Aqua Franklin, Lamar; Ty Grace, Howard; Hana Haden, Georgia Southern; Johnnie Harris, Auburn; Brian Holsinger, Montana; Rick Insell, Middle Tennessee; Renee Jimenez, UC Santa Barbara; Chris Kielsmeier, Cleveland State; Mike Lane, NJIT; Amy Mallon, Drexel; Mike McGuire, Radford; Kim McNeill, East Carolina; Lynn Milligan, Rider; Dan Nielson, Utah Valley; Shawn Poppie, Clemson; Samantha Quigley Smith, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville; Missy Traversi, Army; Jonathan Tsipis, Western Carolina; Way Veney, Central Connecticut State; Coquese Washington, Rutgers.
4-star center Eric Reibe committed to Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies on Wednesday.
The UConn Huskies secured a commitment from 4-star prospect Eric Reibe on Wednesday, the program’s second commit in the 2025 recruiting class.
The 7’0 center from Maryland chose UConn over Kansas, Creighton, Indiana, Oregon, Iowa, and others, citing the program’s track record of player development and in particular the way the team utilized center Donovan Clingan last season.
Reibe also mentioned perhaps the most obvious factor for choosing to go to Storrs and play for Hurley – back-to-back national championship victories.
The big left-hander is the 27th ranked prospect in the 2025 class at 247Sports, coming in at No. 33 in the composite rankings.
He joins Darius Adams in UConn’s 2025 recruiting class. Adams is a 4-star shooting guard from Indiana who is ranked No. 22 in the class, and the duo combined gives Hurley among the top rated classes in the early stages of the 2025 cycle.
Hurley and the Huskies are set to tip-off the 2024-25 season, and a quest at a third straight national championship, on Wednesday, November 6th at home against Sacred Heart.
UConn with a wild win over Temple thanks to a long fumble return
Temple was inches from turning a loss into a victory on Saturday against UConn. However, fate intervened and the Huskies turned a three-point lead heading into the final play of the game into a 29-20 victory.
Temple QB Tyler Douglas was being tush-pushed into the end zone on a play that began with three seconds left. However, the ball squirted free into the arms of Jordan Wright, who took it 96 yards for the stunning, game-sealing score.
If you’re watching Vandy and Bama, you likely just missed the end of Temple @ UConn… pic.twitter.com/t5k8oMuVJm
Duke will host Connecticut in its penultimate non-conference game of the 2024 season. Here are the most important Huskies to know.
The Duke Blue Devils and Connecticut Huskies are set to go at it on the football field this Saturday.
While it may not be the blockbuster matchup it would be if this took place on the hardwood, the game should still provide plenty of entertainment to both fanbases and serve as an appetizer of sorts before the two fanbases spend basketball season jockeying for position as one of the nation’s best teams.
We’ll see Jim Mora oppose first-year Duke coach Manny Diaz on the football field. Duke comes in on the road after winning an overtime thriller against Northwestern. The 26-20 win was made possible by an inspired performance from starting quarterback Maalik Murphy in the second half.
The Huskies, 1-1 on the season, lost to Maryland 50-7 in Week 1 but handled Merrimack 63-17 this past weekend, so they should enter Durham with some confidence.
UConn won’t be a cakewalk for Duke, but the game is more than winnable for Manny Diaz’s program. The Huskies have some talented players they’ll depend on, and we’ll look at what some offer below.
Joe Fagnano, QB
Jim Mora is set to let senior Joe Fagnano hold things down at the quarterback spot. Fagnano enters off the best performance of his Huskies career, in which he went 13/19 for 328 yards and tossed five touchdowns. He was at the controls as the offense put together a 35-point first quarter.
As a sixth-year senior, Fagnano isn’t lacking in experience. He’s less of a creator in the pocket as much as he is a distributor who gets the ball out quickly to his playmakers, allowing them to operate with the ball in their hands. Look for Duke to try to speed things up for him and force him to make plays out of structure.
Skyler Bell, WR
The Huskies’ most dangerous playmaker is Skyler Bell, a junior wideout from the Bronx, New York. He already has seven catches for 246 yards and a touchdown on the young season, and he’s led the Huskies in receiving yards for both of their first two games.
He transferred to UConn after three years with the Wisconsin Badgers. With the Huskies, he’s been able to showcase himself a little more. He is dangerous with the ball in his hands, has some burst, and is a capable route runner. Duke has the secondary options to neutralize him, but it will take a coordinated effort.
Jayden McDonald, LB
The most impactful Huskies defender is another transfer, Jayden McDonald. McDonald spent the majority of his college career at Troy and spent the spring with Indiana before ultimately landing at Connecticut.
He led Troy with 75 total tackles last season. He’s a smaller linebacker, standing just six feet tall, but he’s unfazed and uses his speed to make plays sideline to sideline. With Duke struggling to get its run game going, seeing a veteran linebacker like McDonald certainly won’t make things easier.
