UConn Wins Big, But Dan Hurley Wants More: “This Team’s Got to Get a Killer Instinct”
HARTFORD - UConn walked away with a 79-60 win over Butler in its Big East opener Tuesday night, but if you thought head coach Dan Hurley would be satisfied, you haven’t been paying attention.
Four minutes in, the Huskies were trailing by seven, the energy flat, the execution shaky. Hurley’s response? Fire and brimstone in the huddle.
“That was just total BS,” Hurley said postgame. “A total joke to start the game.
Big East opener, at home, and we give up a lob dunk right after scoring one? Championship teams don’t do that.
We were on our heels.”
It’s not that UConn isn’t winning - they’re 11-1, with their only loss coming to No. 1 Arizona while missing two starters.
But Hurley’s frustration isn’t about the scoreboard. It’s about mindset.
He’s chasing something bigger than just wins. He’s chasing domination.
“You’ve got to be a killer in sports and in basketball,” Hurley said. “You can’t start a game like that.”
That edge - the ability to step on an opponent’s throat and not let up - has become the theme around this year’s team. UConn has the talent, the depth, the defense. What Hurley wants now is that next-level mentality.
Solo Ball, who poured in a career-high 26 points, echoed the message.
“Coach has been talking about killer instinct for days,” Ball said. “And we didn’t have it early.
It was bad. We turned it around with defense and rebounding, but we’ve got to keep our foot on people’s necks when we have a lead.
We’ve got to extend it, not let it slip.”
This isn’t just coach-speak. It’s the standard Hurley’s set after last season’s historic run.
That 2023-24 UConn team didn’t just win - it steamrolled. A 37-3 record, back-to-back national titles, and a March Madness run where every win came by double digits.
The defining moment? A 30-0 run against Illinois in the Elite Eight that was so brutal, even Larry David had to look away.
“That second championship team was incredible,” said Texas coach Sean Miller after UConn beat the Longhorns last week. “I don’t know if you can build that second team again.”
And maybe you can’t. That squad had three future NBA players - Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle, and Cam Spencer - and a perfect blend of offensive precision and defensive havoc.
But Hurley’s not interested in excuses or comparisons. He wants this year’s group to reach its ceiling, and that means pushing them to chase the same level of ruthless execution.
“This team is supposed to be a basketball gang that gives absolutely everything they have in pursuit of a championship,” Hurley said.
There are flashes. In a top-10 showdown in Boston against BYU, UConn jumped out to a 20-point lead.
But the Cougars fought back, and the Huskies needed late-game poise to close it out. Against Illinois in New York, UConn controlled most of the game, but the second half got uncomfortably close.
Florida nearly stole one until a five-second call bailed UConn out in the final minute. Texas hung around longer than Hurley liked before UConn pulled away 71-63.
That’s the gap Hurley wants to close - not just winning, but finishing.
“That’s the next step,” said forward Alex Karaban. “The ’23-24 teams I’ve been on, if we’re up 10 or 12, we’re not letting a team like Texas think they have a shot. Those teams put the hammer down, took a 12-point lead to 16, to 20, and kept going.”
The competition hasn’t been soft. UConn’s nonconference schedule was no cupcake tour - all six high-major opponents were ranked to start the year.
And Butler came into Hartford at 8-2, with wins over Virginia and Providence. They’re no pushover, and they punched first, jumping out to an 11-4 lead.
But once UConn settled in, the game flipped. The Huskies locked down on defense, turned up the rebounding effort, and built a 16-point lead by halftime. From there, they cruised - mostly.
There was plenty to like: 13 blocks, a plus-18 rebounding margin, and a spark off the bench from Jayden Ross, who dropped 13 points and grabbed eight boards, including a put-back dunk that lit up the crowd. But there were also 15 turnovers, and a 23-point second-half lead that got trimmed more than Hurley would’ve liked.
That’s the kind of thing that keeps the UConn coach up at night - and keeps his foot on the gas.
“I wish there was more killer instinct,” Hurley said. “To put a team down, bury a team.
We had chances to do it. This team’s got to get a killer instinct.”
The pieces are there. The talent is there.
The wins are stacking up. But for Hurley and the Huskies, the pursuit isn’t just about the scoreboard.
It’s about becoming the kind of team that doesn’t just beat you - it breaks you.
And until they get there, Hurley’s not letting up.