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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 wasted a chance to beat one of the best teams, with two studs,” Hurley said after the match 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 November 10, 2025. (David Butler II/Imagn Images)
The No. 3 Huskies were outshot on rebounds, while the Wildcats outscored them 43-23, but they were still in the game. Hurley expressed his displeasure with the team’s lack of fight.
“We should have had minus 10 on the glass today. I mean, we were punked. We were punked. It’s going to be a bad movie session coming out of here where there are people; there’s a street fight going on in the paint and the men can’t watch 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, Nov. 19, 2025. (Jessica Hill/AP Photo)
“You know, guys, you can’t stay on the outside when your buddies are fighting. You get into the fight, you don’t stay on the outskirts of the fight. And I think we’re going to see a lot of clips where guys weren’t in a fight with their teammates.”
Although they rebounded and committed more fouls (the Huskies committed 21 fouls to the Wildcats’ 16), they kept pace with Arizona step for step. UConn rallied to tie the game at 60-60 after trailing by 13 with 13:44 left.
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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 late in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against UConn in Storrs, Conn., Nov. 19, 2025. (Jessica Hill/AP Photo)
But as time went on, Arizona executed better and came away victorious in the battle of two of the top five teams in the country.
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.
