"When you're at a place like UConn, you better win": Dan Hurley sets high standards for Huskies after spectacular win against Musketeers

The second-ranked UConn Huskies men's basketball team is the reigning national champion and one of the favorites to win the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

After his team dominated Xavier 87-60 on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals of the Big East Tournament, Huskies coach Dan Hurley said about the UConn program:

"When you're at a place like UConn, you better win."

Hurley has set a high standard for this UConn team (29-3).

Simply, the Huskies have to win.

While this may be seen as an incredible amount of pressure to place on a team, this should be expected for a team that has been a powerhouse this season, going 18-2 in the Big East in the regular season.

Who is Dan Hurley?

Dan Hurley is the son of legendary high school coach Bob Hurley Sr. and the brother of Arizona State coach Bob Hurley Jr., who starred as a two-time national champion at Duke before being the No. 7 pick in the 1993 draft.

Dan Hurley played at Seton Hall as a point guard during the 1990s, making three NCAA tournaments.

Hurley began his coaching career in 2010 with the Wagner Seahawks. During the 2011-12 season, Hurley led the Seahawks to a school-record 25-win season. However, while easily having enough wins to be considered for a postseason tournament, the Seahawks did not accept a berth in any tournament.

That was Hurley's last season with Wagner as he then moved on to the Rhode Island Rams. Hurley spent six years with the Rams and was able to improve the team from conference struggles to making the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999 in 2017.

Dan Hurley moved to his current role as UConn's coach in 2018. Similarly to his time at Rhode Island, the Huskies had been struggling, falling from their heights of winning four national titles from 1999 to 2014 as the school moved from the Big East to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Huskies rejoined the Big East in 2020, and an improvement was immediately seen. That year, Hurley led UConn to its first spot in the NCAA tournament since 2016.

From here, things continued to improve, capped by last season's national championship.

This year, Dan Hurley and UConn are in an even stronger position than last year, so a strong run during March Madness should be expected.