Dan Hurley admits "major concern" after refusing to attend another Maui Invitational type event: "I've got to be able to do a better job"

Dan Hurley's UConn Huskies looked nothing like the team that had won two straight national championships at the Maui Invitational, suffering a blowout loss and multiple clutch upsets in the tournament last week.

The losses to Memphis, Colorado and Dayton followed what had been a solid start to the season for the Huskies, who entered the week with a 4-0 record.

Speaking to the media after the Huskies' Thanksgiving loss to Dayton, Hurley, who is in his seventh season at Connecticut, admitted that he was very concerned about the state of his team.

"You have no time to kind of get things back together," he said. "So, that's a concern for the year that I didn't really anticipate I've got to be able to do a better job of trying to mitigate some of that and with my messaging."

"I don't think I'll ever do a three-game MTE again," the coach added.

Events like the Maui Invitational have become popular for top-tier programs in recent years, as they provide challenging early-season matchups.

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Dan Hurley reacts to UConn's win over MD Eastern following Maui disaster

It was a must-win situation at XL Center on Saturday, coming off their disastrous showing at Maui Invitational. The Huskies took care of business against Maryland Eastern Shore, winning 99-45.

The win was a much-needed confidence boost for Dan Hurley’s team as Big East regular-season play begins two weeks from Wednesday.

UConn sits at 5-3 overall with tough tests against Baylor, Texas and Gongaza still on the schedule before the start of conference play.

"Our performance in Maui shocked the college basketball world ... a lot went on there. It's a long season, and I don't look at it as a must-win game in game nine of such a long season," Dan Hurley said after the MD Eastern game.

"There's a lot of things that could be better, but I think we'll get that squared away," he added. "We're not playing up to it right now, but I do think that the potential is for us to get there, it's just going to take us a little bit more time."

Hurley was still not satisfied with his team’s performance on the defensive end. UConn allowed the Hawks to take 50 shots against them, even though they held Maryland to just 45 points.