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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 team was without two of its best players – senior center Tarris Reed Jr. and five-star freshman Braylon Mullins – in the close loss, and the two-time champion head coach tore up the stat sheet in disgust.
“We just blew a fucking opportunity to beat one of the best teams, losing by two players,” Hurley said after the game in 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/Image Images)
The No. 3 Huskies were dominated on the boards, as the Wildcats outrebounded them 43-23, but were still in the game. Hurley expressed his displeasure with the team’s lack of fight.
“We should have had -10 on the glass today. I mean, we got hit. We got hit. It’s going to be a bad film session coming out of here where there are people; there’s a street fight in the paint and the men can’t see the 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, guys, you can’t sit on the sidelines when your friends are in a fight. You get into the fight, you don’t stay on the periphery of the fight. And I think we’re going to see a lot of clips where guys weren’t in the fight with their teammates.”
Despite being outrebounded and committing more fouls (the Huskies committed 21 fouls to the Wildcats’ 16), they moved forward step by step with Arizona. UConn rallied to tie the game 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, Conn., Nov. 19, 2025. (Jessica Hill/AP Photo)
But down the stretch, Arizona executed better and emerged victorious in a battle of two of the nation’s top five teams.
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 its strong start to the season against Denver (1-3) at 10:30 p.m. ET.
