BOSTON — It wasn’t long after the UConn Huskies cut down the nets in Houston last April that Dan Hurley started thinking about the 2023-24 season. And it was going to be a season unlike any Hurley had ever experienced, as coach of the reigning national champion.
Naturally, he reached out to the last guy to successfully navigate a back-to-back national championship push: Billy Donovan.
“He said don’t make it about that,” Hurley said. “Don’t chase a repeat. Improve in the offseason as a coach, serve your players well, stick to the formula. Don’t pursue the achievement. Just do a great job … and let the chips fall where they may. But don’t obsess over that accomplishment or else it’s going to make you crazy.”
Hurley and UConn have cruised into the Elite Eight and have the best chance to repeat as men’s national champions since Donovan did it with the Florida Gators in 2006 and 2007. The Huskies are the first reigning champion to make it past the Sweet 16 since the Gators in 2007 and they’re doing it in a more dominant fashion than last season.
Their 82-52 win over San Diego State on Thursday was the biggest margin of victory in a Sweet 16 game since 2017, and they’ve won their three NCAA tournament games by an average of 28.7 points. They’ve trailed for a total of 28 seconds and have led by double digits for 58:27 of a possible 60 second-half minutes.
While the Huskies established themselves early on as the title favorites, they’re aware of the not-so-successful history of reigning national champions.
The last team to do this won it all… again 👀🏆#MarchMadness @UConnMBB pic.twitter.com/sNzhz5C5mt
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 29, 2024
“The way the defending champs have fared in recent history, it’s kind of been against the odds in terms of the season we’re having following up the national championship,” Hurley said after Thursday’s win.
“This team has defied what past champions have done, and taken this program to a completely different level.”
UConn isn’t running from the spotlight.
“We’ve been getting everybody’s best shot all year,” senior guard Hassan Diarra said a day earlier. “We walk with the confidence of being the No. 1 overall seed and we understand it’s a privilege to do that.”
‘You guys have to go back up the mountain again’
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