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The two-time-defending national champion UConn men's basketball team saw its 17-game winning streak dating back to last season snapped on Monday with a 99-97 overtime loss to Memphis. To call the game “out of control” would be an understatement, and Huskies coach Dan Hurley made his feelings about the referees known after the game.
In a postgame press conference that was impressive even by his standards, Hurley railed against the three technical fouls called against his team — and the foul disparity overall. As he did that, Hurley also shed some light on the first technical of the game, which came early in the first half.
The broadcast explained it as a technical assessed to the UConn bench, which naturally led people to think Hurley was T'd up off-camera. It turns out it wasn't Hurley at all. It was on the team's longtime athletic trainer, James Doran.
“I had a lot of issues with what went on there,” Hurley said.
ESPN cameras caught Doran reacting demonstratively to a call before the technical — it was the second foul on starting center Samson Johnson — though it's possible Hurley missed it.
“A trainer who is just the nicest guy, very quiet guy, might've muttered something under his breath,” Hurley continued. “In a normal situation, an official comes over to you and says, ‘Hey Coach, tell that guy to shut up.' That's how that should've been handled.”
Technicals and a bad foul call doom UConn basketball
Doran's technical was one of three on the Huskies on Monday afternoon. The other two came in overtime at the most inopportune time imaginable.
The first was on Johnson — his fifth and final foul of the evening — and it came after he shoved Moussa Cisse on his way back down the court. It's unclear what was said to prompt that reaction.
The other was on Hurley after UConn was on the wrong end of what looked like a bad call in a pivotal moment. Liam McNeeley skied for a rebound and was whistled for an over-the-back foul, though replay showed his action was clean.
“That over-the-back call… there was a Memphis player that made a half-ass effort, Liam McNeeley high-pointed the rebound, and for that call to be made… was a complete joke,” Hurley said.
And Hurley wasn't going to end his presser without throwing another shot at the refs, Pat Driscoll, Steven Anderson, and Scott Brown.
“I've never seen the one ref before. I didn't even know he was a college ref,” he said. “I'm familiar with the other two, so I'm not surprised.”
