On Friday afternoon, prominent college basketball head coach Rick Pitino led his Iona Gaels against head coach Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The game was an absolute blowout, with the Huskies beating the Gaels by a lopsided score of 87-63 – and it led to quite a special interaction between the two coaches after the game.
While most coaches might be upset after losing in such a lopsided fashion in an extremely important NCAA Tournament game, Rick Pitino had quite a classy message for Dan Hurley following Friday afternoon’s loss.
“Win it all. Take it home. You’ve got the team to do it,” Pitino told Hurly in the hallway after the game, according to NCAA men’s basketball reporter Jeff Goodman of Stadium.
Pitino probably isn’t wrong in his assessment. While the Connecticut Huskies are just a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, they are ranked No. 4 overall in the KenPom computer rankings behind only Houston, UCLA, and Alabama – all of which are either No. 1 seeds or No. 2 seeds.
The team is also led by sophomore star Jordan Hawkins, who is projected by most to be a first-round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
If the Huskies continue to play the way they played on Friday afternoon against the Gaels, there’s a good chance they’ll be cutting down the nets in a few weeks.
[Stadium]
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