Is this a must win for Hurley?

[RayIsTheGOAT]

I’m seeing so much talk in the national media (and among our fans) that this is a "must-win" for Hurley to get the "he can't coach in the tournament" off his back.

Frankly, I think that talk is ridiculous. Of course we want to advance as far as we can and take a step forward.

But I think this fanbase majorly loses sight of how difficult it is to win in the NCAA tournament because we've been so fortunate. And, more importantly, how a single game in the NCAA tournament is not indicative of the state of an entire college basketball program.

Let's look at what some other coaches around the country have attached to their names...

Coach K- Has lost to a 15-seed and a 14-seed.
Tony Bennett- The only coach to ever lose to a 16 seed. (Can you imagine this board if that happened????????)
Calipari- Hasn't won an NCAA tournament game since 2019. In that span, he's had a 9-16 team and has lost to a 15-seeded team from the MAAC.
Cooley- Took 11 seasons to get to his first Sweet 16 (yes, different expectations at PC, but he's still a revered coach in college, and has had the talent to get to multiple sweet 16s)
Self- (Who I think is clearly the best coach in the game right now) Has lost to multiple double digit seeds.

The list goes on and on. And for all of them, they're still revered coaches.

If we lose to Iona, yeah, it's going to suck. And sting. And the insufferable fans will come out and do their insufferable thing. And the narrative will still be that Hurley can't coach in the NCAA tournament, when in reality it's probably one player going off for 40 points and some players on our side getting tight in big moments.

But then the dust will settle. The months will go by. Some people will depart the program. We'll probably land a high end transfer or 2.
Then summer session rolls around before we know it. Our top 5 recruiting class will come onto campus, and the hype will potentially be at an all time high under Hurley.

So just enjoy the ride right now. We were probably one three pointer away from being in the Big East Championship game last week, and probably rolling a gassed Xavier. The narrative right now would've been totally different.

No matter what stupid takes you have if/when we lose in the next few weeks, the sun will still come up and we will still have a dynamite team next season with a dynamite coach whose seat remains quite cool.

 

[aburks41]

If we had won a couple tournament games last year, then I wouldn't worry as much if we lost this year. Would I be disappointed? Absolutely. But my main worry is if we lose to Iona, then we will be going into year 6 with zero tournament wins, and half of the fanbase calling for Hurley's head. That is the absolute last thing we need to have happen. Hurley is also a bit of a head-case. He needs to get to a S16 (at least) this year just to relieve some of that pressure.

 

[Kenny11]

I think the Iona game is a must win. It doesn’t mean he’s going to get fired if he loses but he would gain a reputation as a bad tournament coach that will be hard to shake. 3 first round exists in a row as the higher seed would be pathetic.

However, it’s not happening. Uconn wins by 17

 

[navery12]

Is it a must win in that he'll be fired if we lose? No

Is it a must win in that he needs to finally show he can win in March? Yes

The last 2 years are understandable losses in the NCAA tournament, this year there's no excuses

 

[CTMike]

Yes it’s must win this is ridiculous.

 

[CTBasketball]

Yes. /thread.

 

[temery]

Search results for query: Must win

the-boneyard.com

 

[RayIsTheGOAT]

If we had won a couple tournament games last year, then I wouldn't worry as much if we lost this year. Would I be disappointed? Absolutely. But my main worry is if we lose to Iona, then we will be going into year 6 with zero tournament wins, and half of the fanbase calling for Hurley's head. That is the absolute last thing we need to have happen. Hurley is also a bit of a head-case. He needs to get to a S16 (at least) this year just to relieve some of that pressure.

I would agree that the biggest reason would be for Hurley himself to get it out of his own head. And so we don't have to take from opposing fanbases.
I'm not worried about fans that call for his head if we lose, because that's not going to happen right now and it's a dumb take.

 

[Ripper32]

Remember Bobby Valentine with the dugout disguise? Well, Hurley will have to wear that all over town if they lose.

 

[John]

#6/end thread

 

[05Alum]

Must game to keep his job ? Absolutely not
Must game to prevent this board from blowing up? Definitely
We are ranked in the top ten. We are relevant and will be for years to come. 3 years now in the tourney in a row, with no falloff apparent for next year. He's put the program in a really good spot. It's up to the players to execute on a game by game basis. If they lose to Iona it will come down to that.

 

[Husky68]

I would hope he thinks so.

 

[uconngb]

I’m seeing so much talk in the national media (and among our fans) that this is a "must-win" for Hurley to get the "he can't coach in the tournament" off his back.

Frankly, I think that talk is ridiculous. Of course we want to advance as far as we can and take a step forward.

But I think this fanbase majorly loses sight of how difficult it is to win in the NCAA tournament because we've been so fortunate. And, more importantly, how a single game in the NCAA tournament is not indicative of the state of an entire college basketball program.

Let's look at what some other coaches around the country have attached to their names...

Coach K- Has lost to a 15-seed and a 14-seed.
Tony Bennett- The only coach to ever lose to a 16 seed. (Can you imagine this board if that happened????????)
Calipari- Hasn't won an NCAA tournament game since 2019. In that span, he's had a 9-16 team and has lost to a 15-seeded team from the MAAC.
Cooley- Took 11 seasons to get to his first Sweet 16 (yes, different expectations at PC, but he's still a revered coach in college, and has had the talent to get to multiple sweet 16s)
Self- (Who I think is clearly the best coach in the game right now) Has lost to multiple double digit seeds.

The list goes on and on. And for all of them, they're still revered coaches.

If we lose to Iona, yeah, it's going to suck. And sting. And the insufferable fans will come out and do their insufferable thing. And the narrative will still be that Hurley can't coach in the NCAA tournament, when in reality it's probably one player going off for 40 points and some players on our side getting tight in big moments.

But then the dust will settle. The months will go by. Some people will depart the program. We'll probably land a high end transfer or 2.
Then summer session rolls around before we know it. Our top 5 recruiting class will come onto campus, and the hype will potentially be at an all time high under Hurley.

So just enjoy the ride right now. We were probably one three pointer away from being in the Big East Championship game last week, and probably rolling a gassed Xavier. The narrative right now would've been totally different.

No matter what stupid takes you have if/when we lose in the next few weeks, the sun will still come up and we will still have a dynamite team next season with a dynamite coach whose seat remains quite cool.

yeah, it's a must win

Major difference between DH and all the other guys you listed is all of them had major success before the things that you listed happened. Other than Cooley, but Providence really doesn't belong on the list with all of those other schools/coaches in terms of expectations. And although I didn't check the records, I'm pretty sure none of them lost to 3 double digit seeds IN A ROW

 

[HuskylnSC]

An early exit, i.e., before Elite Eight, and Hurley goes on the hot seat next year. UConn has shown an inability to win important games and the trend must stop.

 

[gsmooth]

I’m seeing so much talk in the national media (and among our fans) that this is a "must-win" for Hurley to get the "he can't coach in the tournament" off his back.

Frankly, I think that talk is ridiculous. Of course we want to advance as far as we can and take a step forward.

But I think this fanbase majorly loses sight of how difficult it is to win in the NCAA tournament because we've been so fortunate. And, more importantly, how a single game in the NCAA tournament is not indicative of the state of an entire college basketball program.

Let's look at what some other coaches around the country have attached to their names...

Coach K- Has lost to a 15-seed and a 14-seed.
Tony Bennett- The only coach to ever lose to a 16 seed. (Can you imagine this board if that happened????????)
Calipari- Hasn't won an NCAA tournament game since 2019. In that span, he's had a 9-16 team and has lost to a 15-seeded team from the MAAC.
Cooley- Took 11 seasons to get to his first Sweet 16 (yes, different expectations at PC, but he's still a revered coach in college, and has had the talent to get to multiple sweet 16s)
Self- (Who I think is clearly the best coach in the game right now) Has lost to multiple double digit seeds.

The list goes on and on. And for all of them, they're still revered coaches.

If we lose to Iona, yeah, it's going to suck. And sting. And the insufferable fans will come out and do their insufferable thing. And the narrative will still be that Hurley can't coach in the NCAA tournament, when in reality it's probably one player going off for 40 points and some players on our side getting tight in big moments.

But then the dust will settle. The months will go by. Some people will depart the program. We'll probably land a high end transfer or 2.
Then summer session rolls around before we know it. Our top 5 recruiting class will come onto campus, and the hype will potentially be at an all time high under Hurley.

So just enjoy the ride right now. We were probably one three pointer away from being in the Big East Championship game last week, and probably rolling a gassed Xavier. The narrative right now would've been totally different.

No matter what stupid takes you have if/when we lose in the next few weeks, the sun will still come up and we will still have a dynamite team next season with a dynamite coach whose seat remains quite cool.

It's interesting because I have my criticisms of Hurley and despite what some posters here say, I do think he and the players were at fault for the New Mexico State loss. I don't buy into the notion that there was nothing they could do because NM St. was hot. That can be an endless debate which I would rather not focus my time on.

Having said all of that, I think it is absurd when people say Hurley's seat should get warm if they lose. If they lose to Iona or in the 2nd round it would sting, a lot, but in no way should people on here be calling for Hurley to get fired or suggest his seat gets warm.

Edit: but like someone above said, if UConn gets to the Sweet 16 it would alleviate a lot of pressure for him in a way that would be beneficial for him and the future players of UConn.

 

[tzznandrew]

An early exit, i.e., before Elite Eight, and Hurley goes on the hot seat next year. UConn has shown an inability to win important games and the trend must stop.

If they don't beat the 1-seed he's on the hot seat? LOL

Our fans suck. Cooley was right.

If he loses the first game there will be more pressure and second-guessing next year. In that sense, it's a must win.

 

[wingsfan055]

He hasnt "won" anything in his 5 years here...No BE/BET titles, no Tourney wins...This is all about results. Sorry, thats the way it is if you want the school to be a big "player". If he loses to Iona, then yes, he deserves the hot seat and implications it may have to his coaching rope, coaching strategy, recruiting, etc.

 

[Palatine]

It's a must win for the season to be considered a success.

But it is not a must win for Hurley or the program.

 

[Dutch Boyd]

I’m from CT and UConn alum but live up in the Albany area now for work. Of course I’ll be at the game Friday. Listening to local sports radio this morning it sounds like our 430 slot might be the only game on for a bit so the whole country will be watching.

 

[jake14mw]

Definitely not a must win. If they lose though, Hurley will come back next year with a LOT of pressure on him to be successful.

We won't lose to Iona. UCONN by 17. If we do lose, there are going to be a lot of pissed off people around here. To me, it's a big disappointment if we don't get to the Sweet 16. BIG.

 

[aburks41]

An early exit, i.e., before Elite Eight, and Hurley goes on the hot seat next year. UConn has shown an inability to win important games and the trend must stop.

If we get to a S16, Hurley will be getting a contract extension, and probably a pretty damn good raise to go along with it. In January when we were losing every night, I thought at the time that if we continued to slide and then got bounced again, then yeah his seat would be getting very warm next year. But we ended the season winning 10 of 12, and ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll for the first time since 2011. We finished 4th in Kenpom, 8th in the NET. We've lose in the BET semifinals the past 3 years by 3 points, 3 points, and 2 points. We're so so so close to finally breaking through again. There's no reason to start from scratch.

 

[brihman]

An early exit, i.e., before Elite Eight, and Hurley goes on the hot seat next year. UConn has shown an inability to win important games and the trend must stop.

Yeah let’s be reasonable he needs to pick up the W vs Iona then it’s considered a decent year all things considered.

 

[UofCT]

Maryland was better than us in 2021. Even though we were ranked higher or lower depending on terminology. Aaron Wiggins is averaging 20 mins per game and i'm not even sure Bouknight and Martin combined have 20-mins played all year.

2022 sucked but we didn't have Hawkins and faced the most lights out shooter I have ever seen.

 

[Rico444]

It's not like Hurley hasn't won NCAA tournament games; he won games in his last two years at Rhode Island. Suggesting that we fire him at this point with a loss would be crazy.

That being said, the discourse will be deafening all year long if he loses to Iona, so this is a really, really important game for him to win just to get the monkey off of the program's back.

 

[LIUCHusky]

An early exit, i.e., before Elite Eight, and Hurley goes on the hot seat next year. UConn has shown an inability to win important games and the trend must stop.

Please tell me this was typed with tongue in cheek.