Dan Hurley seems to have received some unexpected support for UConn’s recent victory—thanks to his wife, Andrea.
During a CBS Sports appearance, Andrea shared that she nearly forgot the special charm Dan gave her for the Final Four matchup against Illinois. She mentioned he has a sacred bead bracelet he got at church years ago, but it frequently breaks during games, which means he’s always repairing it.
“He wears these shoes every game, and they tend to break,” she explained. “It’s been a long process—so I ended up going to Hobby Lobby to thread it and grab more wooden beads.”
On the day of the game, Andrea realized she had left her beads back at the hotel. After arriving at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, she had to rush back to retrieve her bags.
She made it back to the arena with the help of a police escort just in time to deliver the beads to Dan.
That charm proved effective again as the Huskies maintained their lead almost throughout the match, ultimately defeating the University of Illinois 71-62, marking their third national championship appearance in four years.
“I grabbed the bead and then came back with the sacred bead under police escort. I saved the day! The victory is all mine,” Andrea joked.
In this win, three players from the University scored in double figures, including Taris Reed Jr. with a notable double-double. Freshman Braylon Mullins, who was instrumental in their Elite Eight win over Duke, made a timely three-pointer late in the game to solidify the victory against Illinois.
Despite the Fighting Illini trying to stage a comeback from a 14-point deficit, a crucial missed 3-pointer coupled with the Huskies’ strong free-throw performance sealed their win.
“We’re a tough program and a group of fighters,” Hurley remarked post-game. “We have incredible will. When we enter these games, we’re prepared to fight… It feels like a life-or-death struggle for us to reach Monday night for a shot at the championship.”
Hurley will face No. 1 seed Michigan in the national title game on Monday. If the Huskies prevail, it would mark their third championship in four years, following back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024.
This victory would further cement Hurley’s legacy as one of the top coaches in contemporary college basketball, as he currently holds an impressive .800 winning percentage in the NCAA Tournament among coaches with at least 25 games.
Perhaps it’s that lucky bracelet after all that contributes to his success.
