“What Can You Say? We Won by a Lot, Again”: Dan Hurley Drops Cocky NCAA Final Review, Revealing Strategy Against Zach Edey

Hardly any doubt remains that Dan Hurley is among the best in the business. The 51-year-old scripted history by making the UConn Huskies the first team since the Florida Gators in 2007 to win back-to-back National Championships. UConn did have a task at hand as they were facing a formidable opponent that had 2x National Player of the Year Zach Edey in its ranks. Nonetheless, the Naismith Coach of the Year had all his avenues covered and led his team to a comfortable 75-60 victory. His satisfaction was evident soon after the game.

In the post-game media address, he first started by praising the caliber of his opponents. Hurley, in his opening statement, said, “It was a privilege to share the court with Matt Painter and Purdue. One of the top programs in the country, one of the best coaches in the country.”  Moments later, he couldn’t hide his pride and added a smug expression to his comments.

Hurley expressed, “Obviously, what can you say? We won by a lot again.” Clearly, the Huskies were the better team on the night. They went 30 of 62 from the field in response to Purdue’s 24 of 54. From beyond the arc as well, the Huskies had more control over the ball with 27.3% accuracy over their attempts while Purdue only landed 1 of their 7. Moreover, they held the upper hand in their free throw conversions as well, missing just 2 of their 11 attempts.

In the meantime, their strategy on how to deal with Purdue’s poster boy Zach Edey came in handy in the end.

Dan Hurley on how they countered the Zach attack

The other noteworthy tactic that UConn adopted was making sure that Edey didn’t get any support from the rest of his teammates. Hurley provided further insights on this by saying, “We didn’t care if took 25-28 shots to get 30-35 points. This whole game plan was like no Smith, no Loyer, no Gillis, no Jones. Keep the collective group under 18-20 points as a group.”

This game plan worked wonders as apart from Edey’s 37 points on 25 shots, the rest of the roster could only muster up 21 points together. Braden Smith contributed 12 of those as the Boilermakers struggled to move the ball freely. For the Huskies, it was a different story as 4 players scored in double figures, led by Tristen Newton’s 20 points.

A resounding display by a champion squad. With their glorious season, Dan Hurley and the Huskies have cemented their legacy as one of the best squads in college basketball history. Fans were also delighted to see them function impeccably as a unit.

Read More- Meet Dan Hurley’s Father Bob Hurley Sr. – a Hall of Famer Coach Who Raised Two NCAA Icons