Dan Hurley was howling at his Huskies faithful on Saturday.
After a 79-75 win over Georgetown at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn., the UConn coach was furious with his fanbase for not having a home-court advantage at their on-campus arena.
“You know it, you don’t come to watch a game. It’s not a social event, right? Like this is the basketball capital world,” Hurley told reporters after their 24th win this season. “We need our fans to come to the game and be loud as s–t from the start it needs to be a madhouse.”
UConn plays its basketball games in two arenas, Gampel Pavilion and the XL Center (PeoplesBank Arena), which each hold over 9,000 fans.
Saturday’s game had some empty seats, despite an announced capacity of 10,244.
Hurley explained that he is allowed to go after the fans for their lack of presence during games, as he’s consistently been seen near the bench trying to pump up the student section.
“Well, I’ve kind of given up on it a little bit. You know, I don’t get the same response.” Hurley said when asked about trying to get the fans going with his usual motions to the crowd.
Hurley appeared to get more frustrated as the discussion continued when he brought up the success he’s had in Connecticut.
“I try. I try to get the crowd [going],” Hurley continued. “You can criticize me all you want. I got some f–king equity. You know, I’ve got two national championships here in the last three years,” Hurley added. “So yeah, I’m not doing that anymore. I asked the players to try and do it. “
Hurley added that UConn often has a tough time on the road due to hostile environments, but can’t say the same about his opponents when they come to Connecticut.
UConn hosts Creighton on Wednesday, where the fans will have a chance to prove Hurley wrong.
