Dan Hurley praises referees despite foul disparity between UConn, Michigan in NCAA championship
After his team's 69-63 loss to Michigan in the national championship game, UConn coach Dan Hurley praised the referees, despite a foul disparity:
Though it doesn’t quite eclipse his two national championships and three Final Four appearances, Dan Hurley is known throughout the college basketball world for his spirited interactions with officials. After one of the most difficult losses of his career, though, the UConn coach had something else to give out to the crew who worked the game: praise. REQUIRED READING: Big Ten doing college sports better than anyone.
They just win more | Opinion In his postgame news conference following the Huskies’ 69-63 loss to Michigan in the 2026 NCAA Tournament championship game, Hurley referred to the trio of referees working the game — James Breeding, Jeff Anderson and Kipp Kissinger — as “an all-star group. ” He added they did what they could to officiate a game between two physical teams. “It's hard to ref that game,” Hurley said .
“We both played so hard. That's not an easy game to officiate. If I could have those three guys ref every game the rest of my career, I would sleep well at night.
” Dan Hurley on the officiating 👀 “It’s hard to ref that game. We both played so hard… If I could have those three guys ref every game the rest of my career, I would sleep well at night. ” pic.