UConn coach Dan Hurley ejected for “Pumping up the Crowd”

UConn coach Dan Hurley ejected for pumping up crowd vs. Villanova
from Adam Stites, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com

Dan Hurley was ejected before halftime in a battle of top 25 teams Tuesday night when the UConn coach urged the crowd to get loud in a tight game against Villanova.

The No. 21 Huskies had a 24-23 lead over No. 8 Villanova when Hurley earned a technical foul for slamming his hand on the scorer’s table over a no-call by officials. After Villanova hit two technical free throws to take the lead, Hurley waved his arms to pump up the Connecticut crowd and was immediately called for a second technical foul, disqualifying him from coaching the rest of the game.

Villanova hit one of two free throws after the second technical foul, but went to halftime trailing UConn, 33-32. As the teams headed to the locker room at the end of the first half, the crowd let the officials know about their displeasure.

Hurley, 49, has been the Huskies’ head coach since 2018 and has a 69-44 record as the team’s head coach. In 2019, both he and Tulsa coach Frank Haith were ejected while shaking hands following an in-game argument.