Dan Hurley has quite the reputation when it comes to his relationship with officials, so it was inevitable he would be asked about the whistle during Monday’s national championship game loss to Michigan.
In fact, he even broke out in laughter when asked how much the officiating impacted his team’s 69-63 loss before saying, “listen, that’s an all-star group there” and saying “it’s not the reason why we lost.”
There was certainly a disparity in the whistles, as UConn was called for 22 personal fouls to Michigan’s 13. Foul trouble for the Huskies was also a problem throughout the contest, especially when Solo Ball picked up his fourth foul early in the second half.
Star big man Tarris Reed Jr. also picked up two in the first half, which impacted how physical he could be when it came to post defense.
But it would also be short-sighted to blame the officiating entirely for UConn’s foul trouble because that was a constant theme for the Big East team throughout the season.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello highlighted the issue as the game unfolded:
Michigan took full advantage of the foul trouble and connected on 25 of its 28 free throws at an 89 percent clip. The Huskies went 12-of-16 (75 percent) from the line on the other side.
The foul trouble for UConn was a major reason the Wolverines were able to overcome their own shooting woes. The Big Ten team was an ugly 2-of-15 (13 percent) from deep and also shot just 38 percent from the field, but it was largely in full control throughout the second half because of the foul shooting and its strong defense.
As for Hurley, he can spend the entire offseason drilling home foul discipline with his team ahead of the 2026-27 campaign, which could put the Huskies in better position to cut down the nets the next time they reach this stage.
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