UConn head coach Dan Hurley's hilarious admission about viral celebration vs. Baylor

12/05/2024 10:37 AM

After a disastrous Maui Invitational in which they lost not one, not two, but three games to previously unranked opponents, the UConn Huskies returned to the mainland and course-corrected with a 54-point win over Maryland Eastern Shore. But UConn’s first true test after a stunning collection of performances in Maui would come on Wednesday night when the 15th-ranked Baylor Bears would make the trip to Storrs to face the Huskies.

To the delight of the 10,000 or so Huskies fans in attendance, a short-handed UConn squad — playing without junior forward Alex Karaban — managed to topple Scott Drew’s Bears, handing Baylor their third loss of the season to a ranked opponent. An under the radar sequence from the 76-72 win came about midway through the 1st half, when the Huskies were in desperate need of a spark after falling behind by as many as 11 points early on.

The catalyst of that spark was Aidan Mahaney, the experienced junior guard who transferred from Saint Mary’s in the offseason. Mahaney had struggled in the opening month of the season, but found his stroke on Wednesday night, hitting three’s on back to back possessions to keep UConn in the game. After the second one, Mahaney and UConn head coach Dan Hurley had a memorable sideline interaction that got the home crowd psyched.

Dan Hurley is HYPE for Aidan Mahaney

(via @CBBonFOX)pic.twitter.com/1JNwCo3PX7

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) December 5, 2024

“I think I might have cracked a rib,” Dan Hurley said of the celebration after the win, per UCTV. But even Hurley would tell you it’s well worth it if it means that Aidan Mahaney can get going. In back to back seasons with the Gaels, Mahaney averaged 13.9 points per game, but through the Maui Invitational, the 6-foot-3 guard was averaging just 4 points on a miserable 28 percent shooting. Over the last two games, however, Mahaney has upped his scoring to 10 points per game on 60 percent shooting.

A tough stretch is ahead for the 6-3 Huskies. UConn heads down to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns this Sunday, and then they’ll face the 7th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs six days later at Madison Square Garden before Big East play begins.

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