Dan Hurley Trolls Rick Pitino While Explaining Interaction With St. John’s Fan

The UConn coach appeared to initially ask referees to kick a fan out of Madison Square Garden.

UConn coach Dan Hurley addressed his viral confrontation with a fan Friday night at Madison Square Garden.

Hurley and St. John’s coach Rick Pitino were both handed technical fouls in a matter of seconds during the first half of the Huskies’ 95–90 victory over the Red Storm in the Big East Tournament semifinals.

Shortly after Pitino was whistled for a technical foul for arguing a call, Hurley earned one by pleading to referees to kick a fan out of the arena.

"The place was a frenzy,” Hurley said after the game, via ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. “[Pitino] got his [technical]. And there was a guy, a short guy in a red blazer, that was on the court yelling at the ref and then he started yelling at me and moving in my direction and I was just kind of pointing out that he was behaving worse than Coach Pitino. 

“I was really just trying to help the officials."

Dan Hurley is not happy with a fan in the stands and things are getting intense in MSG pic.twitter.com/1QNW8MLsN7

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 15, 2024

Hurley initially appeared to ask referees to remove the fan from the game, but changed his course at halftime. He granted the fan permission to stay.

"Not because I thought he was a good guy, but because I thought it might be bad luck,” the coach said.

UConn will battle the winner of Friday’s semifinal matchup between Providence and Marquette in the Big East championship on Saturday.