Danny Hurley is 19-5 in the NCAA Tournament

In Sweet 16/Elite 8/Final 4/National Title Games he's a

Perfect 10 for 10

Won NCAA Tournament games back to back years for Rhode Island taking them from the very bottom of the league to the very top

He's won 17 of the last 18 NCAA Tourney games he's Coached

Last edited by The Dude (3/31/2026 11:46 pm)

A10 fans could see this coming given his tremendous success bringing Rhode Island from the very bottom to the very top

This year probably his finest season as this squad lacks the talent of his Back to Back National Title Champion teams

This run of 17 wins in 18 Tourney games joins the short list of best runs of the last half century

Last edited by The Dude (3/31/2026 12:18 pm)

Gwmayhem -

Continuing to insist on the Dude providing accuracy here is the definition of insanity. Remember, he is still selling Few as "America's Greatest Coach" unless, of course, he is now off the Few train and onto the Hurley train. I will say this though, his hyperbolic statements provide a good laugh for the many basketball fans in my company. Whether he knows it or not, we have started a Dude Post of the Week email. He is famous! In fact, I think he has brought some much needed outside traffic here.

Last edited by GWRising (3/31/2026 2:39 pm)

The Dude wrote:

Gonzaga men’s basketball head coach Mark Few has been voted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, according to a report from CBS Sports

Few will be inducted as part of the 2026 Hall of Fame class, which also includes Amar’e Stoudemire and Doc Rivers

the Hall of Fame wrote:

One of the most successful coaches in college basketball history, Few has led Gonzaga to sustained national prominence. He guided the Bulldogs to NCAA championship game appearances in 2017 and 2021 and to 25 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths and counting.

Few is the winningest active coach by winning percentage and has recorded at least 20 wins in every season as Gonzaga’s head coach. He is a two-time Naismith Coach of the Year (2017, ‘21), won numerous West Coast Conference titles

Mark Few absolutely deserves this honor.  Bad joke time, but few would argue this point.

Similarly, few would ever advocate the Gonzaga coach as the sport's greatest.  In fact, on this point, I would reduce few to just one.
 

Danny Hurley and the Back to Back National Champions return to the Title Game for a 3rd time in 4 seasons!!

Last edited by The Dude (4/04/2026 8:37 pm)

🏀 Dan Hurley's record in the NCAA tourney: 20-5
🏀 Dan Hurley's record over the last four tournaments: 18-1
🏀 Dan Hurley's record in the Final Four: 5-0
🏀 Dan Hurley's record in the national championship: 2-0

It seemed cruel to induct Mark Few into the Hall of Fame where he was forced to watch Michigan dismantle Arizona in person.  I mean, flashbacks to his own team's 40 point loss to the Wolverines had to be upper most in his mind.  Is he required to sit through tonight's proceedings as well?  

The one storyline I am not hearing that much about is Tarris Reed Jr facing his former team.  I don't think this necessarily gives either team any type of advantage but if Reed needed any more motivation beyond playing for a national championship, he certainly has it.

With all due respect to the majestic Dan Hurley, tonight is all about Michigan.  If they play the way they have played throughout most of this season, I don't believe there will be much that UCONN can do.  However, what the Huskies have going for them is that we're down to a single game season.  Could Michigan have a cold night shooting the ball?  Of course, this can happen to all teams.  Could Michigan uncharacteristically turn the ball over way more than normal?  Tonight's stage will obviously be the largest yet and Hurley has a great feel for convincing his players that they can win while simultaneously removing pressure off of them as the underdog.  We've already seen Duke melt down under a similar circumstance.

If UCONN wins and I genuinely feel it's due to a superior game plan and great decisions throughout the contest, I will tip my hat to Hurley.  But like I said, I am of the firm belief that tonight is Michigan's game to win or lose.   And if both teams are at their best, I believe the 26 year drought for a Big 10 team failing to win it all will be over.

Gwmayhem wrote:

Congratulations to college basketball's best team in 2025-26, the Michigan Wolverines.  They were so dominant throughout this season that they led at halftime despite showing up with their D game and won the championship with nothing better than an overall C performance.

I said I'd tip my hat to Hurley if his team won and his coaching had much to do with this.  Despite the loss, I'll give him plenty of credit nevertheless.  As he said, UCONN played the type of game in terms of style and tempo which gave his team the best opportunity to win.  As a result, they hung around throughout much of the game.  Michigan's three point attempts were almost always taken out of rhythm and they uncharacteristically missed a ton of close finishes near the rim.  Credit UCONN's defense to a large extent.  It did not help matters that Yaxel was either in more pain than he let on or allowed his injuries to get inside his head.  He certainly lacked his usual explosiveness.  I had to beg him to stop taking 3's as he demonstrated zero lift on these attempts. 

To those who felt that the Huskies were hosed by the officials, there were plenty of dubious calls to go around.  Former Dayton Flyer Malachi Smith seemed incapable of possessing the ball without traveling but got away with several.  A 10 second violation was missed.  I could watch this game again and probably find 6-8 bad calls that went against each team.

It's very hard to forecast "dynasties" in this day and age but I would put Dusty May7 and Dan Hurley at the top of the list of candidates who can pull this off, not because of any player continuity, but because they will both always find talented young men who really want to play for them.  A good friend of mine became very close to Dusty while he was at Florida Atlantic, and he assured me at the time that Michigan got a great one.  My friend said it's a worn out cliche, but he really might be a better person than he is a coach, and he's a great coach.

The game I am sure was disappointing to those who crave lots of offense and highlight plays.  And yet, I was more than gratified to see two teams play so hard for the sport's ultimate prize.  

Totally agree with this. Hurley's game plan to slow the pace of play really frustrated Michigan's offense, and UConn's defense was excellent. If UConn had just hit a few more of their 3 pointers, they may have pulled off the upset. But Michigan was the better team (their defense was equally impressive) and they won. Hurley himself seemed to admit that Michigan was the better team when he said during his halftime interview that slowing down the pace was the only way they could win.

I for one really enjoyed the defensive effort by both teams. It was a stark contrast to today's NBA...