Dan Hurley says he went on a 45-second 'tirade' in the locker room during halftime vs DePaul: "It was a game we couldn't afford to lose"

Dan Hurley's UConn Huskies (15-6, 7-3 Big East) made it past DePaul (10-12, 1-10 Big East) on Wednesday with a 72-61 win. However, it did not come easy for the defending champions. The Blue Demons mounted an eight-point lead (37-29) at the break, holding Hurley's crew to just 11 of 29 shooting.

In the post-game interview, Hurley shared that he went ballistic on his roster in the locker room at the half. He said that associate head coach Kimani Young and assistant coach Luke Murray also helped him redirect the roster in a winning direction.

"I just went in there for like a 45-second tirade and then I left to try to just get my thoughts together and think about some adjustments," Hurley shared. (01:52)

"And then Kimani and Luke stayed an additional minute in there and unloaded on the group. It was a game obviously that we couldn't afford to lose."

The biggest shooting struggle for UConn came from veteran Alex Karaban, who shot 1 of 14 from the field. Dan Hurley's crew was booed by the home crowd during the game due to its inconsistency.

Nevertheless, Karaban took charge of creating shots for his teammates and the Huskies started the second half on a strong note. They forced nine turnovers and the squad also improved its shooting to 50% from a 37.9% first-half effort.

---

Dan Hurley praises Solo Ball for leading UConn to the win

Solo Ball took on the leadership charge for the Huskies in the second half, opening with a block on 6-foot-7 CJ Gunn and finishing the sequence with a 3-pointer. He then went 4 of 7 in the stretch to finish with 16 points, five rebounds and two blocks.

Dan Hurley highlighted Ball's mindset and his impact on the program's winning stature in the post-game press conference.

"I think he's such a UConn guy and he cares so much about us and not letting us down and helping us continue to win," Hurley said (05:58). "And he's just gotten in his own way mentally about his defense. If he makes mistakes defensively he can make up for it because he's got vertical ability and he's got long arms and big hands.

"So, you can see he's a special player, he'll end his career here with more championships and remembered as an all-time great shooter, scorer, player."

No. 25 UConn will now hit the road to face the No. 9 Marquette Golden Eagles (18-3, 9-1 Big East) on Saturday.