Dan Hurley was ejected on Tuesday night after receiving a technical foul for pumping up Huskies fans at the XL Center.
Hurley, late in the first half of No. 21 UConn’s 71-69 win over No. 8 Villanova, picked up a technical foul after yelling at an official and slapping the side of the scorers table.
Hurley then turned to the home crowd and started trying to hype them up. Almost instantly, he was handed a second technical foul and thrown out of the game.
UConn held a one-point lead at the time, but the technicals resulted in a quick 6-0 run after Collin Gillespie hit three of four free throws and then Jermaine Samuels hit a 3-pointer.
Though Hurley wasn’t there to see it firsthand, UConn secured a massive win after he was sent to the locker room.
The Huskies, who held a one-point lead at halftime, did not give up a Villanova field goal in the final two minutes of the game — though a pair of Brandon Slater free throws in the final minute gave the Wildcats a four-point lead.
But it was a quick 6-0 run to close the game, thanks to a Tyler Polley bucket from behind the arc and then an R.J. Cole layup after a huge steal from Gillespie, sealed the win for the Huskies.
Gillespie led Villanova with 17 points and four assists, though he shot just 4-of-9 from the field. Brandon Slater added 17 points, and Jermaine Samuels finished with 13 points. Villanova had won five straight games before Tuesday’s loss.
Adama Sanogo led UConn with 20 points and six rebounds while shooting 8-of-14 from the field, and Isaiah Whaley added 13 points. Cole finished the night with 12 points. The Huskies have now won four straight and five of their last six.