"It's stressful playing at UConn": Dan Hurley gets frank on how Huskies are dealing with frustration

From being the top contenders for the NCAA championship, Dan Hurley's UConn Huskies have been relegated to the 25th spot on the latest AP rankings. The program lost three back-to-back contests at the Maui Invitational and three games in January. All of the losses have come against unranked teams.

With that, after a solid second-half effort got UConn past DePaul 72-61 on Wednesday, Hurley highlighted how his roster constantly battles through pressure and frustration.

"It's stressful to play at UConn and when you're not as as as good as we've been, it's uncharted territory for Alex (Karaban) and Samson (Johnson) and Hassan (Diarra) and Solo (Ball) and Jaylin (Stewart) and Jayden (Ross)," he said (10:30).

"I mean they're not used to playing this many games like this, they're used to dominance. And then I think even the new guys, Tarris (Reed) and Aiden (Mahaney), I mean there is a different type of pressure when you play at a place like UConn."

Dan Hurley then pointed out how Florida, the previous back-to-back champs, returned its entire starting five for its second title in 2007. With that, the coach noted that UConn's present rotation only features one returning starter, reflecting the pressure it creates on the program to live up to its winning stature.

The Huskies (15-6, 7-3 Big East) already harbor a worse record than their previous season (37-3, 18-2). Even during its first title run, the program had a better record in its first 20 contests than this season.

Dan Hurley reacts to UConn fans booing the home team

UConn struggled to get past DePaul early on Wednesday and trailed by eight points at halftime. With that, the fans in the XL Center filled the energy with boos for the home team and the coach.

In the postgame interview, after learning about fans' perspectives, Dan Hurley pointed to the program's recent winning past and highlighted the love he has been showered with by fans at UConn.

"I guess that's just for the fans to decide whether this program and everything we've given them the last couple years, whether they believe that was the right thing to do," he said (7:20).

"While I'm getting crushed by all types of people in the national media, my UConn fans have had my back since I've been here... that's why I'll never coach basketball in any other place unless you guys just don't want me here anymore."

Dan Hurley also flaunted the support Huskies fans have showcased for his coaching and approach in an interview with 247Sports on Jan. 24.