It was a critical situation with the UConn Huskies that only Dan Hurley’s wardrobe change could fix. Or so he believes anyway. Rather than bring home a fourth loss this season, Connecticut fought hard against Providence to clinch a close 87-84 victory at Gampel Pavilion. But while Maui stains their record, UConn is as bent as ever on winning a third NCAA championship in a row. But not everyone thinks it will be possible with this constantly changing roster.

For the last two years, the Huskies have been boasting experienced players hungry for championships. This season’s squad might be equally looking forward to one but whether or not they can actually do it is the real question. On The Fielf of 68: After Dark, Terrence Oglesby is among the naysayers. “I think they win a couple of games in the tournament. Do I think they win a third national championship in a row? I don’t think that’s going to be the case.”

Nevertheless, he does believe “This is a really good team. And it’s gonna be a fun watch for the rest of the season. I almost feel weird when I say that they’re not gonna win a national championship, I almost feel like I’m sliding them. And that is the greatest compliment that you can to a program and it’s staff.”

The Huskies’ close victory against Providence was largely thanks to Hassan Diarra, whom Hurley calls the “ultimate soldier” because of how well he fits into whatever role he’s put in. The third-year graduate student has been in Storrs for the last two championships but mostly as a reserve who did not come off the bench in 2022-23 but saw more court time in 2023-24.

And although Hurley is motivating this patched-together team to clinch another trophy, they might need more time to gel well together. Oglesby does also say, “I feel guilty for saying that I don’t think that they can win a third national championship in a row. I do think they’re very good, they can make a second weekend; that’s kinda where I am at UConn so far.”

March will be another test for the current version of the Huskies and they will have limited time to figure things out. But their head coach hopes to keep the fire going with his superstitions chipping in!

Dan Hurley’s wardrobe change may have saved UConn

In honor of the legendary St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca, the Big East was full of loud and colorful sweaters to remember the coach who passed away last November. His unique sweaters were a highlight of his coaching years, and Dan Hurley wanted to pay his respects as well. Despite the major superstitions, he holds.

“For me, superstitious as I am, I wanted to honor those incredible coaches that were the best coaches for me and the ones that I’ve always idolized,” Hurley said after the game. “I wasn’t able to wear clothes I wore against Providence the last time that we beat them soundly in Providence.”

The Huskies’ coach’s rule is to wear the same clothes to avoid a skid and continue the winning streak. While this sweater had to be subbed in, Dan Hurley did say that he changed some clothes at halftime! Well, the Huskies were losing 39-27 at the time, so maybe it was that or his team pulling up or something else, but UConn did win at the end!