After a video of him complaining about officiating went viral following their 77-75 loss to Florida in the NCAA tournament, UConn head coach Dan Hurley admits that the Gators beat his Huskies team fair and square.

"Florida's fans already hate me because I blamed it on the refs," Hurley explained this weekend in an interview with Barstool Sports' Pardon My Take podcast, when asked to preview the 2025 men's national championship. "So I didn't give [them] their proper respect on having beaten us fair and square. Which, they did beat us fair and square. I'd like to get that out there."

"I didn't think the refs really cheated us in the Florida game," he later explained. "I thought there was a call on a [Alex] Karaban drive that, there was a foul that needed to be called that would have kept it at a two-possession game if he made his free throws... and that was on my brain as I was heading down that tunnel as our pursuit of a three-peat and this incredible, history run that we'd been on, as it all had gone down in flames, and I was filled with all this emotion. Did I actually believe what I said? No ... I had no idea somebody [would be recording] in a tunnel area where there is never media when these games end ... I thought it was like my safe space where I could just say some sh— and let off some steam."

The always fiery two-time defending national champion went on to give the Gators—and star guard Walter Clayton Jr.—their flowers.

"We had opportunities," said Hurley. "Up three with the ball, in transition, three-and-a-half minutes to go with a chance maybe to get a three in transition and take a six point lead, but we turned the ball over... from there [Walter] Clayton took over and did a little bit of like a Kemba Walker, Shabazz Napier thing and he's kept doing it."

After mounting a second-half comeback over Auburn in the Final Four, Florida is headed back to the National Championship for the first time since 2007. They'll take on Kelvin Sampson and the Houston Cougars in the title game on Monday night.

Tip-off from San Antonio's Alamodome is set for 8:50 p.m. and will air on CBS.

More March Madness on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Dan Hurley Admits Florida Beat UConn 'Fair and Square' After Viral Referee Complaint.

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