Dan Hurley gives honest reaction to UConn’s East Region in NCAA Tournament

UConn head coach Dan Hurley at Madison Square Garden for St. John's game

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Matthew Couden

By Matthew Couden

Contributing Writer

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The UConn Huskies are preparing for another Big Dance after they learned their March Madness seed, location, and matchup on Selection Sunday.

Following a crushing 72-52 loss to St. John's in the Big East Tournament, UConn failed to become one of the top seeds of the tournament, and instead will be a No. 2 seed.

They'll play a first-round game against Furman on Friday, as part of what looks like a difficult East Region. On Sunday evening, coach Dan Hurley spoke about his team's bracket spot.

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"Tough region, yeah," Hurley responded when a reporter asked, before elaborating on some of the teams in UConn's region.

"I think every year you look at it, it's pretty tough. St. John's is a five seed...You know, uh, that's a that's a that's a heck of a region. Michigan State, who I know probably looked like more of a two until Purdue's run, you know, ends up as a three," he said, adding, "Heck of a region."

UConn head coach Dan Hurley at Madison Square Garden for St. John's game

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In addition to having Tom Izzo's Spartans, there are also tough contenders, including the UCLA Bruins, who recently defeated Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament, and of course, Rick Pitino's St. John's squad, which has defeated UConn twice.

UConn has wins against several of the teams in that region, defeating the Spartans in a less-significant exhibition game and Kansas at their home gym. They also recorded a home win against the Red Storm, and now look forward to a neutral court situation in the East.

"We've wanted to play in Philly from the start. I think we're excited that we're able to earn Philly. We have nothing against Buffalo, you know, but our last trip to Buffalo," he joked with reporters.

Hurley said after the St. John's game, where his team and coaching staff "performed poorly across the board," they had a rough film session to review their mistakes.

He particularly pointed to turnovers being an issue for his team as they look ahead to Furman Friday night at 10 p.m. EST. In addition, Hurley said he expects Silas Demary Jr. to be good to go after injury concerns, and Jaylin Stewart will be a "close" decision before their tourney begins.

Hurley also indicated that UConn's history is that they "perform better outside of the league" and "play well in the NCAA Tournament," including last postseason's run where they fell to eventual champions, Florida, before the Sweet Sixteen.

Along with that, UConn's head coach seems to be looking forward to getting away from super physical Big East conference games because there would be "less holding, less mauling, and less grabbing." However, St. John's still looms as a potential rematch opponent in the bracket.