A Dan Hurley head hug wasn’t going to save him from the officials this time.
UConn’s head coach had a bemused reaction to The Post’s Zach Braziller asking about how the game was refereed following Michigan’s hard-nosed, physical 69-63 national title game win over Hurley’s Huskies.
“[Laughing] This guy! Is there a fine? I obviously know about fines. Is there a fine for Zach?” Hurley responded to a question from Braziller, who asked the final postgame question of the night, regarding inconsistent officiating from half to half.
Hurley eventually responded by crediting the officials in the game, citing that the Wolverines are an immensely difficult team to contend with in terms of officiating.
“Hey, listen. That’s an all-star group there,” Hurley continued more seriously. “I mean, Kipp [Kissinger] and Jeff [Anderson] obviously, and James [Breeding] who we’re familiar with as well. Yeah, it’s such a physical game. Michigan is so physical.”
The Wolverines were certainly given a favorable whistle in terms of trips to the charity stripe, as Michigan took 28 free throws and knocked down 25 of them.
Meanwhile, UConn shot just 16 times from the line, making 12 of them, though Hurley refused to blame that discrepancy.
“And again, it’s not the reason why we lost the game,” Hurley said. “Obviously plus-13 at the free-throw line and then plus-12 in attempts… to get the first-half foul trouble really, I thought we were positioned, if we didn’t have that foul trouble, potentially go into halftime with a lead.”
Hurley then added that a key flaw for the Huskies throughout the season was “undisciplined fouling” which he added again reared its head during the national championship game.
Hurley’s interactions with game officials have been a steady conversation topic for the better part of the tournament, with his boisterous antics on the sidelines during games.
After Braylon Mullins drilled a 30-plus foot buzzer beater to beat Duke in the Elite Eight to complete a wild 19-point comeback, Hurley celebrated and immediately went forehead to forehead with official Roger Ayers.
Both parties threw cold water on the situation as nothing more than a standard exchange, but some wanted Hurley to be assessed a technical foul.
Ayers was not selected by the NCAA for the Final Four or National Championship for the first time since 2021 after the incident.
The situation has led to so much public outcry that bookmakers even pointed out that his abiility to manipulate game officials makes him difficult to price out in game odds.
March Madness 2027 odds have UConn 17/1 to win the March Madness national title next year, roughly seventh best, while Michigan comes in at 10/1, third best in the nation. Duke is the current favorite.