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UConn Huskies men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley celebrated with his team after advancing to the national championship with a victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday.
But not everyone in the Indianapolis crowd was excited to see Hurley return to the title game for the third time in four years.
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UConn head coach Dan Hurley stands on the sidelines during the first half of an NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game against Illinois in the Final Four in Indianapolis on April 4, 2026. (Michael Conroy/AP)
Hurley was preparing to speak with CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson. As freshman Braylon Mullins concluded his talk, Hurley headbutted the player who seemed to remember his interaction with a referee immediately after the win over the Duke Blue Devils.
The crowd booed Hurley as he approached the microphone.
“The beginning of the game and the end of the game,” Hurley began to say about Mullins as boos could be heard on the CBS broadcast. “I don’t know what… they’re booing? The headbutt? I don’t know what they’re booing.”
Hurley’s intensity has drawn criticism and praise from college basketball fans. Since taking over the UConn job from Kevin Ollie before the 2018-19 season, he has helped the Huskies regain national prominence.
UConn head coach Dan Hurley reacts after a call during the second half of an NCAA Tournament semifinal game against Illinois in the Final Four in Indianapolis on April 4, 2026. (Abbie Parr/AP)
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He has only had one losing season with the Huskies: the first year in which they finished 16-17. It was a two-year improvement for the school that received sanctions during the last two years of Ollie’s tenure.
Now he’s doing something no coach has done in a long time: rushing back to the national title game. Roy Williams returned to the national finals in two consecutive years with the North Carolina Tar Heels in 2016 and 2017. Brad Stevens led the Butler Bulldogs to back-to-back appearances in 2010 and 2011. Billy Donovan won two in a row in 2006 and 2007.
The last coach to have three appearances in four years was Mike Krzyzewski with Duke, but he played three straight games from 1990 to 1992. He won two of those titles in 1991 and 1992.
UConn’s Braylon Mullins and head coach Dan Hurley celebrate after defeating Illinois in the semifinal of the NCAA college basketball tournament at the Final Four in Indianapolis on April 4, 2026. (Michael Conroy/AP)
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UConn will look to lift the trophy again Monday night against the Michigan Wolverines.
