Everything UConn Basketball HC Dan Hurley said Furman Postgame
UConn Basketball Head Coach Dan Hurley met with the media following his program’s 67-51 win over Xavier on Friday afternoon in the 2026 Big East Tournament second round.
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UConn Basketball HC Dan Hurley Transcript
Coach Dan Hurley, Tarris Reed Jr. and Alex Karaban. Coach, opening statement. Yeah, you know, just obviously thrilled to advance and it was, I think, right before the Big East Tournament.
I watched Furman, East Tennessee State, you know, kind of on my couch before we left to go, you know, to go play in the Big East Tournament. And I was kind of praying that they, you know, weren’t in that 15 seed line because just, you know, watching them and, you know, being familiar with Coach Ritchie. I mean, that guy’s, you know, one of the best young coaches in the sport, their style of play, their offensive schemes, their culture, you know, the level of player.
I just couldn’t say enough about the respect I have from – you watch nine or ten of an opponent’s games and you really study the quality. And that is – it’s just a big-time program. He’s a big-time coach.
And so thrilled to advance, get the win. Obviously, historic performance by Terrace. And then the captain was awesome.
We were able to, you know, survive some shooting woes from three with the exception of Alex. I thought we got some great shots, you know, but obviously the rebounding was huge and these two guys’ performance was huge. But just shout out to Furman, man.
I got so much respect for them and Coach. All right, questions just for the student athletes first. In the back right there.
And then we’ll go back middle. Terrace, amazing game. Historic performance.
Congratulations on the win. Is there something you think you can take away from this game that you could even improve more so? Yeah, I feel like I let my foot off the gas a little bit in that second half. There was a period of stretch where I let a couple rebounds go by.
Wasn’t as strong with the ball, so I feel like playing that complete 40, not letting me lose any bit of focus and really just trusting in the guys around me, trusting in my teammates. I feel like I got to do a better job of just being dominant that full 40. All right, in the back, middle.
Terrace, Owen Dashko, NBA Draft.net. You had 31 points, 27 rebounds. You surpassed your season high with 16 rebounds in the first half. What was your mindset coming into this game and what you wanted to accomplish? Yeah, my mindset coming into the game was really just to be dominant, knowing that this is my last Mars Madness.
My days are numbered in college basketball. So we’re just going out and giving it all I got and having fun with the guys around me. You know, we have a special group, special coaching staff, just a special team in general.
So we just want to have fun and really enjoy the process, enjoy the journey. Question for the student-athletes will go right there and then we’ll come down to the front. This one’s for Alex from the Center Hub.
Alex, this is your fourth first round game in March Madness. Does it feel any different this time around? Are you kind of used to, you know, how things go around this time of year? Can you talk me through that a little bit? I think it’s a mix of both. I think you’re obviously used to it.
I’ve played in the biggest stages of March Madness, obviously. But, you know, you still get that nervous energy. You still get that excitement to where it’s like, it’s March Madness.
March Madness is here. And, you know, that nervous energy knowing that, you know, you’ve got to give everything you’ve got. And, you know, you lose, you’re done.
So I think nervous energy that’s like exciting, but also like never being satisfied knowing that you’re playing in March Madness. Down here in the front middle. Terrence, you talked about the pressure that’s on you with this team, how the team can reach its ceiling.
You guys are obviously without Silas today. And you needed to respond from the Big East tournament. Can you just talk about the mental preparation that went into this week and how good it feels to have a performance like you did? Yeah, I feel like for me, knowing that I’m just a huge man of faith.
And the biggest thing for me was like feeling just, like you said, like all these different types of emotions, all this pressure coming off that tough St. John’s game. It was just like so much on me wanting to win. And honestly, I was just in my room praying.
And I said, Lord, you got to have it all, give it all to Jesus, you know, let him carry all this weight, all this tough whatever for me. So just really being able to go out there, play free, play for the guys around me, play for that next man, play for this dude right here. You know, these days the number two legend in UConn uniform.
So I’m just excited to go out here and just have fun. Play for UConn. Just don’t play for them.
He’s set, man. He’s got them. You need the rings.
He got them. I’ll take another. Daily Dose of Hoops for you both.
With Silas out tonight, Malachi 7 assists, just a wonderful turnover. What did you make of his performance? And then as a follow-up to that, you guys have got to experience Mark’s madness before. He didn’t have dated with an injury.
Are you guys just happy for him that he got to go out there and experience that and start a lineup today? Yeah, Malachi’s my roommate, you know. We talk about it all the time, talking about how fun it is for him to really just go out here and, you know, play on Mark’s madness. Knowing that, he had to step up tonight, and he really did his job.
So all credit to my guy, Malachi. Down here in the front, and then we’ll come back over here. Dave Forges, Harris Community Media.
Alex, obviously Tyrus dominated the first half. Not much else going on for you guys. Only up four at halftime.
Did you feel the need personally to step up in that second half? A, you didn’t want it to end like that, I’m sure. And B, he needed some help out there offensively, and you really provided it. I mean, definitely.
I mean, I’m always going to trust my teammates out there. And heading into the second half, it was a new half. You never know what could happen.
But it’s my job, you know, being the veteran guy on this team, having the most experience in college basketball. I can’t go out like that personally and make sure that I step up when my team needs me. And that’s something I wanted to do this game.
That’s something I want to do the entire tournament. But, you know, I got so much trust and confidence in my teammates, too, knowing how we’re going to respond and how Tyrus is going to keep playing like this, too. Last one for the student athletes right here.
Major Madness. Alex, Dan mentioned that Furman kind of is – he mentioned how good he thinks Bob Richie is as a coach and how Furman is unique. What did they do to kind of make it a difficult scout for you guys coming in? And do you have a relationship with Alex Wilkins? I saw you go up to him after the game.
I know you’re both from Mass. Yeah, I mean, Furman, they run so many different actions that they kind of do like what we do, too. They could have a counter to a certain action.
It could look like the same action with a counter. And I think that’s what makes them so difficult to prep. I mean, when we were scouting them, it felt like we were going over a new play every single day just with how many actions they got.
But, you know, at the same time, I thought we were prepared. We didn’t execute at certain moments what we needed to as a team. But I’m going to give credit to Furman.
I mean, they’re one hell of a team, and they’re an outstanding program. And about Alex, yeah, he’s from Mass. I mean, he’s worked out with my trainer a couple times.
He’s from the area, so I’ve seen him a couple times. And to see him grow up and really be this type of player and step up as a freshman, especially being fearless in his first March Madness game, it was awesome to see. So, you know, I’m happy for him.
All right, Alex and Terrace, thank you very much. You guys can go back to the locker room. Appreciate it.
Questions for Coach Hurley? We’ll start over there standing and then sitting. Jonathan Tannenwald with Philadelphia Inquirer. Dan, at halftime, you guys.
Wait, what? Sorry. What time is it? It’s late. It’s 10 after 1. Appreciate everyone staying.
Yeah, sorry, man. Dan, sorry. When the first half, you had the physicality advantage on, but the threes weren’t falling.
No. How much of a concern, if any, was that part of it? I mean, part of it is it’s like, you know, a coach like that, a staff like that, and again, you know, I really, I hope, you know, enjoy having him at Furman, you know. I don’t know how much longer you’re going to enjoy having a coach like that.
So, everyone at Furman, enjoy, you know, whatever time you have remaining with that coach because that coach is going to be coaching a big, big play soon. So, I would just say with us, Terrace, we were getting great threes. I mean, it was stunning, you know, just the opportunities that we were getting.
I think it was a little bit frustrating. But, like, you know, we were just, I mean, you almost just didn’t want to wear Terrace out, you know. And, you know, so it just, obviously, we knew we had an advantage there.
They started the game with Johnston on them, which really I think got them going because he had a bigger physical advantage over Johnston than he did over Bowser, you know. And then any time something broke down where we couldn’t get somebody downhill driving or couldn’t get a clean three for one of our perimeter people, you know, just throw the ball inside. And then they obviously smart to start trapping the post.
And then we got great threes and, you know, and obviously I think we’re due for a big shooting night. Right here, second row. Coach, how you doing? Liam Sedarian with Philly Sports Network.
Congrats on the win. Thanks. Sort of a follow-up to that, Terrace Reed put up the first 30-25 game in the NCAA tournament in nearly 60 years.
Was that something that you thought that you could take advantage of on tape or, like, with Silas out and the shots not falling, did you have to call his number a little bit more? I mean, you know, when I started watching him on film, I started having, like, a little bit of a flashback to, like, New Mexico State where I’m saying, like, oh, this is a really good team. And I was having, like, a little bit of a Buffalo flashback to 22, just because they were so tall. I mean, they’re just, you don’t play many 15 seeds or, you know, I guess mid-majors that legitimately go 6’10”, 6’11”, at the 4 and 5. Both guys are skilled.
You know, and then, like, when I saw them at the open practice yesterday, walked down the hallway, I was stunned at how tall Wilkins was, how tall House was, and how tall, you know, Thomas was, their wings. So they were just a really big, tall, you know, tall team. And, you know, we just knew it was going to be a hard-fought game.
You know, obviously we’re missing a starting point guard who, you know, would have been, I think, a much better matchup for Wilkins, you know, because Silas has size and is a ball hawk and maybe could have made it a little tougher on him. But, you know, and then Jalen Stewart being out, too, who’s, you know, our sixth man. So we knew it was going to be a hard game.
You know, I got so much respect for the SoCon conference. I watched that. I watched, you know, a lot of those conference games.
It’s a heck of a league. And much respect to Furman. I’m not sure if I answered your question, man.
That was just a word salad of just crap. With USA Today, kind of picking off of that, we heard on the TV broadcast that you said Terrace was the game. Can you just talk about how, you know, he was dominant in the game and allowed the team to go? But can you remember back to how the last time you had a player that dominant or have seen? In a particular game, just from a stat line standpoint, no.
I would say, like, he has dominated the games. Like, he dominated the St. Johns game at home in a similar fashion without the numbers. He was so good defensively, so good on the backboard, dealing with a guy like Zuby, who’s, you know, should have been a first-team All-American level player.
You know, he’s had games. But I think that’s also why, you know, we’re on Terrace so much. You know, like, this – I’ve said it a lot recently.
You know, he’s a top two or three center in the country, you know. And, you know, when he plays like that, we can win any game against any team in the tournament when we’re healthy. You know, but we can’t afford when Terrace just plays like a top 10, top 15 center in the country.
Then, you know, we’re not an elite team. So we don’t necessarily need 31 and 27. You know, but Terrace is a guy that every time he steps on the court should be 20 and 10.
Right here in the middle, yep. I wanted a couple, and then we’re going to go down here. Paul Gant, Go4Radio.
So, Dan, obviously 1 o’clock in the morning. How do you guys handle the next two days in terms of practice? Well, it’s beneficial that the game is later on, you know, on Sunday night. So that gives us a little bit more time.
We played a late game last year versus Oklahoma, and then I think they gave us like the noon game on Sunday. So, yeah, right, it was the noon game. So, you know, at least they pushed that game back.
Everyone’s going to sleep in. And, you know, obviously we’ve been preparing for Central Florida and UCLA with scouts. And, you know, obviously we’ve got to figure out what our health is here.
You know, we’ve got to hopefully, you know, one or both of those guys, you know, is available for Sunday. You know, if not, you know, obviously we’ll prepare for a great brand matchup, UCLA, UConn. Got some pretty good games in here on Sunday, right? Virginia, Tennessee.
UCLA, UConn. Pretty good in Philly. Last question right down here in the front.
Jake Coats, Nick Daly, Dose of Hoops. I’ll kind of ask you the same thing I asked to Terrace. Malachi fishing with the ball in his hands.
He was on low because of a lot of that second half. But you’d also just be really happy for a guy like that that after his long road he gets to experience this stage. Yeah.
I mean, the guy is such a – you know, he’s such a good guy and he’s got such a great spirit. And he’s probably a guy that will be on our coaching staff at some point, you know, when his career has ended professionally. But just so happy that he was able to play 30 minutes.
He actually took a – you know, he got tackled right before we left. So he was not even – he was probably about 80% tonight. You know, he had injured – we thought he had hurt his knee in a catastrophe on Wednesday at the end of practice.
So he was banged up out there playing 31 minutes. The guy’s a warrior and, you know, showed that New York toughness today. And I thought him and Braylon even – Braylon had a bad shooting night, but I thought he did a lot of stuff in the paint.
And then obviously six assists, one turnover, and then two huge defensive plays down the stretch of the game, like two huge steals for Braylon. So, yeah, I’m proud of Malachi. He’s a good egg.
Thanks Coach Early, appreciate it. Appreciate it, everybody.
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