Dan Hurley Rejects ‘Underdog’ Label Ahead of National Championship

INDIANAPOLIS — Public discussion of how UConn got here makes little sense to Dan Hurley, and one could relate to his openly confounded demeanor on the dais as the Huskies are painted as big underdogs for the second time in two Final Four games on Monday.

Before we talk present day, consider he's on the verge of his 200th win in eight seasons at UConn (199-74) a winning percentage a lot of his peers would love to have.

Hurley can win a third national title in four years if the Huskies pull off the upset — technically speaking, as UConn was an 8-point underdog Monday morning — and improve the all-time program record in the Final Four to a remarkable 14-1.

A narrative that somehow a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament with 34 wins is a surprise national title game entry is insincere or lazy. You don't have to agree with Dan Hurley's sideline antics or appreciate his personality to approve of the context of his rebuttal to the 'dog label.

"Underdog, I don't know that we necessarily feel like a huge, huge underdog," he said. "Obviously we acknowledge Michigan's greatness and the team that they are, but we're a 34-win team coming into the game."

Michigan has rolled through this tournament and hit a level of dominance the past two games — scorching Tennessee in the Midwest regional final by over 30 and holding a lead by the same count against an Arizona team that beat UConn in November — perhaps even on a track to be compared to Hurley's best UConn team. It was his second of the back-to-back title winners in 2023 and 2024.

But with dominance and elevated expectations comes a new level of pressure. Hurley ushers his team to the court Monday night with nothing to lose. A third Final Four in four years already stamps his legacy as one of the game's great modern-era coaches.

"In '24, you know you have the best team. There is a certain level of pressure that comes with -- it's like when you get to the Final Four and you know you have the best team, that was a different level of pressure than in '23 where we weren't really sure," Hurley said. "It was our first time. We weren't sure we were the best team in '23, we were just trying to win the next game."

Hurley did compare the current team to his 2023 club on Friday before showing off a championship-level defense that muted Illinois' high-octane attack. UConn held the Illini under 65 points for the second time this season and used a brand of physicality that made freshman point guard Keaton Wagler uncomfortable. When money time came around with under 4 minutes to play, Wagler's legs were toast. He had two open — but extra long distance — looks that clanged the front of the rim as Illinois closed to within two possessions.

When it appeared Illinois had overcome past demons by handling Houston's heavy on-ball pressure and physical play in the South regional semifinals, UConn's Big East muscle hit different.

Now the underdogs — Hurley's refuse-to-lose Huskies — try to squash a fourth Big Ten foe in this tournament (UCLA, Michigan State, Illinois) with another on-brand effort.

"We're a tough program. We're a tough program. We're a group of fighters. It's not appealing to everyone. I'm sure there's some people in here that it's offputting for," Hurley said. "But we are a group of fighters. We are incredibly tough. We've got incredible will. We go into these games, we're ready for battle. Again, for us it's not a game that we're just kind of running around in uniforms throwing the ball around, hoping it goes in. That's not what we're doing out there. We're fighting. It's a life-and-death struggle for us to get to Monday night for the opportunity to win a championship, and then just to be able to prolong this season with each other and to make the people of Connecticut proud, to make the university proud and all the former great players."