Dan Hurley cuts down nets after national championship win over Purdue

UConn defeated Purdue 75-60 to claim its sixth title in program history on Monday, and their second in two seasons.

After the win, the Huskies were rewarded with the tradition of cutting down the nets. Watch head coach Dan Hurley do his part during the celebration. He let the players go first and cut off what remained.

He was sure to hold up six fingers on his way up the ladder.

Dan Hurley holds up the “6” shakes the rim and pounds his chest as he cuts down the nets back to back champs #UConn pic.twitter.com/QcEhyixtDJ

— Pat Welter WRAL (@PatrickWelter) April 9, 2024

The Huskies’ second straight championship win puts UConn in rarified air. Hurley’s squad now joins the 2006 to 2007 Florida Gators, the 1991 and 1992 Duke Blue Devils and the John Wooden, UCLA teams that won all those titles back in the 1960s and 1970s.

The blowout victory comes despite Purdue’s best efforts. AP Player of the Year Zach Edey did everything he could to keep the Boilermakers in the matchup — but the Huskies’ dominance in every phase of the game was too much for Purdue to keep up with.

Hurley revealed the message he sent to his team that helped secure them the victory.

“The message was, we’re the best team in the country,” Hurley said to Ernie Johnson while on the podium. “Purdue is clearly the second-best team in the country. Play to our identity, be who we’ve been all year, and we’ll be champions.”

All six of UConn’s national championships have come since 1999 and remain undefeated in national championship games. With Hurley in Storrs next season — a three-peat is certainly on the table. Only time will tell.

UConn claims second straight national title in dominant 75-60 win against Purdue

Once again, UConn turned a tightly contested game into a blowout in the second half Monday, cruising to a 75-60 victory against Purdue to claim its second straight national championship. With the win, the Huskies improved a 6-0 all-time when they appeared in the title game. 

UConn opened the second half on an 11-4 run after already holding a six-point lead at halftime to break open the game and pull away for good. Tristen Newton led the Huskies with 20 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds in the win.

UConn led by as many as 18 points in the second half as it won all six of its NCAA Tournament appearances by double digits. It felt like the start of a dynasty under Hurley, who has a 140-58 record in six seasons in Storrs.

Read more from On3’s Chandler Vessels here.