UConn Coach Dan Hurley Recaps Team’s Buzzer-Beater Win Over Duke
Hurley called in to Mad Dog Sports Radio to speak with Adam Schein and break down the game-winning play.
Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images
Following a last-second win over Duke in the March Madness® Elite Eight® game Sunday, UConn men’s basketball head coach Dan Hurley joined Adam Schein on Mad Dog Sports Radio to recap the historic game.
“It was obviously a hard-fought game between the two best programs in college basketball … So much respect for Duke, but just so proud of just how hard we fought for it,” Hurley said.
“I want to start with the final sequence, from your perspective,” Schein said. “The missed free throw, the made free throw, the plan on defense, what you thought Duke would do, wouldn’t do, the steal, the turnover, [Alex] Karaban passes the ball, and then the shot. Take us through all of it as you saw it play out.”
Hurley explained that, should they fail to make a play on the ball, the Huskies planned to target the weaker free-throw shooters on the Blue Devils, aiming to foul Dame Sarr or Patrick Ngongba II.
“The best thing that can happen for you at that point is to get some type of deflection … You give guys a chance to make a play on the ball,” Hurley said. “If not, you foul Sarr on that pass back.”
He continued, “We were actually slow to rotate to the inbound there, and he got rid of it quickly. We tried to foul him. You could see Jayden Ross tried to foul him, because I think he’s a 60 percent free-throw shooter. We were fortunate we didn’t foul him, obviously, so we were able to just make a play on the ball.
“I think it helped us that we got [Tarris Reed Jr.] off the court, and we went with a more mobile group. We put five perimeter players on the court that could maybe move around and make a play on the ball, and obviously got the deflection. Again, I think we made a great play. I think [Silas Demary Jr.] made a great defensive play, more than Duke kind of screwing it up.”
When Schein asked if UConn would have tried to foul Cayden Boozer if he had held onto the ball, Hurley said no; he wanted to try to force Duke to make at least one pass first.
“When you make a team make multiple passes at that point in the game, you’re losing time, but you’re also gaining an opportunity that they’re gonna make a mistake with the ball,” he explained.
Referring to Karaban as “one of the great winners in UConn basketball history,” Schein praised the 6’8 forward for having “the savvy to give it to a freshman [Braylon Mullins]” even when he was “35, 40 feet away [in] Steph Curry range.”
“You could see, too, Mullin’s IQ and poise,” Hurley said, “because on the deflection steal, he actually avoids what might’ve been a back court violation … Passes the ball seamlessly ahead to Karaban, and then runs into the play looking for that pitchback three.”
Coach Hurley admitted he didn’t realize how deep Mullins’ three-point shot was until after he saw the replay.
“When you watch Braylon Mullins shoot every day, the guy’s range is ridiculous. Obviously, it was like Steph Curry-ish,” he said. “Release, range, rainbow, and boy, that ball was tracking.”
Hurley added, “I don’t think I’ve ever coached a team that’s won a game on a made jumpshot. And I’ve been coaching for a long time.”
