BOSTON — A lot was said and written on social media between the Sweet 16 results and Saturday night’s Elite Eight matchup between top-seeded Connecticut and No. 3 Illinois, according to Dan Hurley. That’s what it means.
He made sure the players were aware.
Harley certainly did.
The UW coach brought up the Huskies after they beat the Illini 77-52.
Sean, a former Illinois State player who now works for ESPN. Sean Harrington wrote to X Illini star Terence Shannon Jr. may be the best player on the floor, but Collegiate Con didn’t have an answer for him.
Hurley also addressed what others have said about the Huskies having never seen a team as physical as Illinois.
“Such statements are simply stupid,” Hurley said. “You’re going to play against beasts and monsters every night in the Big East, but the Big East has prepared us for a team like Illinois.”
After hearing Harley’s comment, Harrington wrote about X: “@dhurley15, thank you for speaking out. Impressive second half for @UConnMBB. But you gave me All-American status, which was nice!!”
For the University of Connecticut, Shannon was limited to 8 points on 2 of 12 shots.
He was averaging 28.3 points in the first three games of the tournament.
Illinois coach Brad Underwood also said before the contest that his players have seen teams like Connecticut.
It didn’t look like that in the second half, but the Huskies built a 30-point lead and won easily to advance to the Final Four.
“We saw them approach the Elite Eight and shoot water pistols. [each other].we saw [X] People at the school were screaming, ‘We want UConn,”’ point guard Tristen Newton said. “We played all kinds of teams. We played teams from the Big Ten: Northwestern, we had a bad win against them. [in the second round]. I feel like we’re never going to go home. It’s progressing now. I’m not worried about what kind of game they think they played. Obviously they weren’t physical enough so we just outplayed them. ”
Connecticut could enter the conversation as one of the best teams of all time as they continue to advance through the tournament untested.
He already set a program record with his 35th win on Saturday.
But Harley doesn’t want to hear that. He wants someone to attack his team.
“I’m not going to buy that stuff. I’m going to find someone who’s saying something bad and I’m going to zero them out,” Hurley joked. “I threw a guy in there that played at the University of Illinois. We’re all committed to the job and we have a tremendous amount of respect for whoever plays. I never think we’re going to be complacent. That’s why we’re getting the results we are.”
