Dan Hurley makes his feelings known as Geno Auriemma wins 12th national title for UConn

Modified Apr 07, 2025 00:03 GMT

Geno Auriemma and Dan Hurley. - Source: Nathan Ray Seebeck & Zachary Taft, Imagn

UConn Huskies coach Geno Auriemma continued to pad his unparalleled college basketball coaching resume on Sunday. His team won the program's 12th national title, with all coming under Auriemma, as UConn dethroned the reigning national champion South Carolina Gamecocks by a staggering 23 points, 82-59.

With the lopsided victory, the whole UConn faithful couldn't be more proud of their women's basketball team, including men's basketball coach Dan Hurley. He was gunning for a three-peat for his team in this year's NCAA Tournament but was bounced out in the second round 77-75 by Florida.

"@UConnWBB 12 Time National Champions!! Undeniably the Basketball Capital of the World...Storrs, Connecticut," Hurley tweeted with a salute, a husky and a blue heart emoji.

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Throughout this season, Hurley and Auriemma had many conversations sharing national championship-winning wisdom, most notably on their joint show, "Legendary Basketball," on the Huskies' YouTube channel.

While Hurley and his squad ultimately didn't accomplish their goal, it's awe-inspiring for the men's team to see the women's squad snap its nine-year national title drought.

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Hurley's claim of Storrs, Connecticut, being the basketball capital of the world is backed by the men's recent national championships and the women's current national title. The Huskies' men finished 24-11, while the women's squad tallied a 37-3 mark.

Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies could not win the national title a third straight time

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Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies men's basketball team won back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024. They were looking to give their program their first national title three-peat in history, their seventh all-time and the first since the UCLA Bruins achieved the feat about six decades ago.

Still, it's been a successful past couple of years for the school, given the women's national championship, as Hurley and his squad will vye to return to the mountaintop in the 2025-2026 season.

About the author

Koby del Rosario is a college sports journalist at Sportskeeda who took up BS in Advertising Management at De La Salle University, one of the big "four" universities in the Philippines. Koby has over four years of experience with Complex PH, M2.0 Communications, The LaSallian, Daily Tribune, and Time Attack Manila.

Koby's favorite college team would have to be the North Carolina Tar Heels. Apart from being MJ's alma mater, Koby has always been fond of the Jordan silhouettes that release in the school's colors (being a sneakerhead himself).

His past favorite college players would have to be Russell Westbrook (UCLA) and Markelle Fultz (Washington). With Russ, his 1-2 punch with Kevin Love during their UCLA days was something Koby marveled at as Russ became his favorite player to watch post-Kobe.

Besides playing basketball, Koby enjoys nightlife, collecting sneakers, and playing video games. Apart from hosting parties and taking pictures for parties/bars/clubs, Koby is learning to DJ as a hobby with all sorts of house and hip-hop as the main genres.

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Edited by Joseph Schiefelbein