UConn men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley said his wife, Andrea, is a “New Jersey boss lady” for holding back Huskies players from storming the court so they wouldn’t get a technical foul after Braylon Mullins’s go-ahead 3-pointer in a 73-72 victory over top-seeded Duke, which secured them a spot in the Final Four.
During a Wednesday appearance on the “Pardon My Take” podcast, Hurley was asked about his wife’s reaction during the wild March Madness moment.
“Yeah, and she knows nothing,” Hurley said and laughed when Dan “Big Cat” Katz mentioned that Andrea was incredible in the moment” because she was yelling for everyone to get back on the bench.
“Yeah, she’s a boss. She’s the Jersey boss lady. And her language is colorful, too. I mean, she was grabbing people around the back of their warmups. And she doesn’t know anything about basketball, you know?
“I said to her on the plane, ‘This is wild. Three out of four years, you’re going to the Final Four. Did you ever imagine this with your life?’
“And she’s like, ‘I didn’t even know Final Four existed until four years ago.”
The couple celebrated 28 years together in August.
The UConn men’s basketball team’s X account posted a video showing Andrea, who was sitting behind the bench, motioning for players to get on the bench.
“She immediately starts motioning to the bench man, look at this 😭,” the caption read. “Team player!!”
UConn was not assessed a technical foul for their reaction.
Mullins, a freshman guard, sank a long 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left after UConn came back from a 19-point first-half deficit at Captial One Arena in Washington, D.C.
The Huskies and Illinois meet in the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday.
They’ve met once before in the NCAA Tournament, with UConn defeating Illinois, 77-52, in the Elite Eight in 2024.
UConn beat Illinois, 74-61, in a non-conference matchup at Madison Square Garden in November.
