"You almost talked that sh*t into existence": Dan Hurley takes a jab at people posting UConn's poor conference opener record ahead of Xavier matchup

The UConn Huskies started their 2024-2025 Big East Conference campaign on Wednesday with a 94-89 win against the Xavier Musketeers. It was a thrilling overtime affair that went down the wire, as an Alex Karaban 3-pointer to open the extra period pulled the team away and they never looked back.

Heading into the game, however, coach Dan Hurley was a lowly 1-5 in division openers and UConn as a whole has not won one at home since 13 years ago in 2011. With the Dec. 18 victory, Hurley was pleased to know that he and his team may have shifted the narrative as he shared during the post-game presser:

"I just want to thank anyone that tweeted this morning our record in [conference] openers. You almost talked that sh*t into existence. So everyone should unfollow the people that did that today," UConn journalist Sam Calhoun reported.

Hurley's conference-opener record now improves to 2-5 after giving the program its first home opening win in over a decade.

UConn are looking to achieve a rare national title three-peat, with their overall campaign record now standing at 9-3.

The aforementioned Karaban had seven of his 20 points in overtime as stalwart Tarris Reed Jr. paved the way with 20 points, 13 rebounds and 4 blocks while sophomore Solo Ball pitched in 22 points of his own. Hurley and the Huskies next face the Butler Bulldogs on Saturday, Dec. 21, at the Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indiana.

UConn was able to hold off Xavier despite them shooting hot from the three-point line

The Musketeers put up a gutsy fight against the Huskies as the team went a blistering hot 54.2% from the 3-point line, totalling 13 made out of 24. It was a nip-and-tuck affair all throughout that even saw Xavier nabbing at the lead especially in the second half.

This did not rattle Hurley and his UConn squad, though, as he said during the post-game press conference that they were defending the perimeter relatively well and that the opposition just shot the ball well during the fixture.

"I didn't think [it] was that bad. I just thought that was a ridiculous display of 3-point shooting," he shared.

19 more Big East Conference games are slated for UConn this season. They will have to tighten their defense further if they aim to three-peat as national champions.