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UConn head coach Dan Hurley was pretty blunt in his assessment of the team’s 71-67 loss to No. 4 Arizona on Wednesday night at Gampel Pavilion.
Hurley’s squad was without two of its top players – senior center Tarris Reed Jr. and five-star freshman Braylon Mullins – in the close loss, and the two-time champion head coach ripped up the stat sheet in disgust.
“We just f—ing blew a chance to beat one of the best teams, down two studs,” Hurley said postgame at his press conference.
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UConn Huskies head coach Dan Hurley watches from the sideline as his team takes on the Columbia Lions at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut, on Nov. 10, 2025. (David Butler II/Imagn Images)
The No. 3 Huskies were dominated on the boards, as the Wildcats outrebounded them 43-23, yet they were still in the game. Hurley expressed his displeasure with the team’s lack of fight.
“We should have been minus-10 on the glass today. I mean, we got punked. We punked out. It’s going to be a bad film session coming out of here where there are people; there’s a street fight going on in the paint and men can’t watch fights,” Hurley said.
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UConn center Eric Reibe, left, and Arizona center Motiejus Krivas fight for a rebound in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Storrs, Connecticut, on Nov. 19, 2025. (Jessica Hill/AP Photo)
“You know, men, you can’t stand on the outside when your buddies are in a fight. You get in the fight, you don’t stand on the periphery of the fight. And I think we’re going to see a lot of clips where guys were not in the fight with their teammates.”
Despite being out-rebounded and committing more fouls (the Huskies had 21 fouls to the Wildcats’ 16), they went stride for stride with Arizona. UConn clawed back to tie the game at 60-60 after trailing by 13 with 13:44 left in the game.
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Arizona guard Brayden Burries raises his arms in celebration with Arizona forward Tobe Awaka, left, and Arizona guard Anthony Dell’Orso at the end of the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against UConn in Storrs, Connecticut, on Nov. 19, 2025. (Jessica Hill/AP Photo)
But down the stretch, Arizona executed better and pulled out the win in the battle of two of the top five teams in the nation.
The loss was UConn’s first of the year, dropping them to 4-1. They will look to bounce back against Bryant (1-4) on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.
Arizona improved to 5-0 with the win and will look to continue their hot start to the season against Denver (1-3) at 10:30 p.m. ET.
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