Dan Hurley Reflects on UConn's Loss to Florida: 'There's Honor In the Way We Went Out'

The No. 8 seed UConn Huskies gave top-seeded Florida all they could handle during the second round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament on Saturday, ultimately losing 77-75.

It was an effort that made head coach Dan Hurley proud.

"[Florida] showed their quality. I thought we played with tremendous honor," he told CBS Sports' Tracy Wolfson after the loss. "I thought we played with the heart of a championship program, a program that's gone back-to-back. For a team to end what we wanted to do, they were going to have to put us down, and obviously a worthy opponent like that, there's honor in the way we went out."

UConn mucked up the game and gave the Gators all they could handle, leading for much of the second half, but Florida's talent eventually made the difference. First-team All-America guard Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 23 points, including two huge threes down the stretch, while Alijah Martin added 18 points and Will Richard had 15.

It wasn't the cleanest game from Florida, which had 12 turnovers and shot just 22-of-34 from the charity stripe. But the Gators proved their bonafides in the waning moments, holding off the scrappy Huskies.

Still, UConn showed immense heart, and an emotional Hurley expressed his gratitude for players like Alex Karaban, Samson Johnson and Hassan Diarra.

"They change your life," he told reporters regarding his players. "Men like that change your life. I don't know that I was necessarily on the hot seat going into 2023, you've gotta ask [UConn director of athletics] Dave Benedict, but until Alex Karaban put on the uniform, and Has and Samson... the players change your life when you have such special people."

The 2024-25 season didn't exactly go to plan for UConn, as the two-time defending champions finished 24-11 and failed to win either the Big East regular-season or tournament titles.

They gave Florida a battle, however, emptying the tank one last time.

"We're a passionate program," Hurley told reporters. "Players play with it, I coach with it, and you're always f--king drained when it's over."