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WATCH: Dan Hurley ejected for hyping up UConn crowd

James Fletcher IIIby:James Fletcher III•02/22/22•

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Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

UConn basketball coach Dan Hurley hit the locker room early on Tuesday night after a first half ejection which sparked controversy about the Big East officiating. After receiving his first technical foul and sending Villanova to the free throw line, he turned to the crowd to get a reaction. As the crowd clapped and cheered in response, the whistle blew again.

Coming at the 4:53 mark in the first half, Dan Hurley’s ejection did not end the chippy nature of UConn and Villanova. Two more technical fouls quickly followed at the 3:01 mark, this time going to UConn’s Andre Jackson and Villanova’s Justin Moore in an offsetting dead-ball incident.

UConn and Villanova both enter Tuesday’s game inside the top 25 with a chance to continue building their NCAA Tournament resumes with a Quadrant One win. At halftime, UConn held a 33-32 lead inside their home arena.

James Bouknight ejected from UConn game

This is not the first high-profile ejection of the week for UConn, with the first involving a celebrity fan who was kicked out of his courtside seat after a confusing hook from the officials.

During the NBA All-Star Break, former UConn star James Bouknight headed back to his alma mater for Saturday’s game against Xavier. But he got ejected from his seat — and that’s when he got creative to stay in the arena.

Bouknight acted like he was heading out of the building, but tried to sneak up to the student section to take in the rest of the game. He received a round of applause for heading up there.

The NBA guard starred for UConn from 2019-21, averaging 15.0 points and 4.7 rebounds for the Huskies in 43 career games, including 30 starts. The Charlotte Hornets drafted him No. 11 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft and has played in 28 games so far this year. In 10.6 minutes per game, he’s averaging 5.0 points per game.

UConn ended up winning the matchup with Xavier 72-61 to improve to 18-7 overall and 9-5 in Big East action. The Huskies currently sit 2.5 games back of Providence and Villanova for first place in the league standings.