The defending champion UConn Huskies saw their NCAA Tournament run end abruptly on Sunday, falling to top-seeded Florida in a nail-biting 77-75 loss in the second round.
This marks the first time since 2022 that Dan Hurley’s team has been eliminated from March Madness, breaking a 13-game tournament winning streak.
At halftime, both teams were locked in a 31-31 tie, but UConn started the second half strong, building multiple six-point leads. However, they couldn’t withstand Florida's late surge, led by First-Team All-American Walter Clayton Jr.
Social media erupted with funny memes following UConn’s exit. Fans flooded the internet with jokes about the Huskies’ surprising loss, Dan Hurley’s reaction, and Florida’s thrilling comeback.
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Top 10 memes that had fans laughing after UConn’s defeat
Dan Hurley keeps emotions in check after Florida loss
The close loss to Florida had Dan Hurley almost in tears. However, the UConn coach kept his emotions in check after UConn’s heartbreaking 77-75 loss at the PNC Arena. The No. 8 seed Huskies pushed the tournament favorites to the limit but fell short, ending their 13-game NCAA tournament win streak.
In a postgame interview with CBS Sports, Hurley fought back tears as he spoke on his team’s effort.
“I thought we played with tremendous honor." Hurley said. "I thought we played with the heart of a championship program. For a team to end what we've really wanted to do, they were going to have to put us down and obviously a worthy opponent like that, there's honor in the way we went out.”
The Huskies led by as many as six in the second half, but a clutch 3-pointer by Walter Clayton Jr. gave No. 1 seed Florida the lead in the final minutes, and UConn never recovered. Asked what he told his team, Hurley got emotional again.
“This year's been a real battle, we've battled... At times I don't think we liked each other a whole lot with some of the things we've had to go through together but I don't think I'll ever love a team more than how hard they fought for what we were trying to accomplish and for the honor they played with today.”
It was a brutal end to a tumultuous season for UConn, which started the year ranked No. 3 but struggled with inconsistency. Sunday’s loss marked UConn’s first NCAA tournament defeat in 1,102 days.
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