Overview
- UConn’s 73-72 win over Duke on Sunday ended with Braylon Mullins hitting a long three, and cameras then caught coach Dan Hurley briefly touching foreheads with referee Roger Ayers as no technical was called.
- Hurley has said he thought Ayers was coming over to chest-bump and that the official was telling him there were tenths of a second left on the clock, describing the moment as non-hostile.
- ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg said Ayers told him "nothing happened," reinforcing that the exchange was not confrontational.
- After the NCAA released its Final Four officiating list without Ayers, the NCAA media office told reporter Paul Pabst the omission was not tied to the Hurley clip.
- At Thursday’s Final Four news conference, Hurley acknowledged his intense style but noted he has zero technical fouls in his NCAA Tournament coaching career, and he also praised his wife for pulling players back from the court to avoid a possible bench technical.