Dan Hurley shares emotional reaction to UConn loss vs. Florida: 'There's honor in the way we went out'

For the first time in nearly three years, UConn won’t be playing in the National Championship. After the Huskies’ 77-75 loss to Florida in the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32 on Sunday, UConn head coach Dan Hurley couldn’t hold back his flood of emotions.

“[Florida] showed their quality. I mean, I thought we played with tremendous honor. I thought we played with the heart of a championship program. And a program that has gone back to back,” Hurley told CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson. “For a team to end what we really wanted to do, they were going to have to put us down.

“Obviously, a worthy opponent like that, there’s honor in the way we went out. Just love them. I mean, just love them. This year has been a real battle. We’ve battled, and had to battle and battle and battle.”

"There's honor in the way we went out."

An emotional Dan Hurley spoke with @tracywolfson after UConn's second round loss pic.twitter.com/cnjqUW0VO3

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 23, 2025

UConn showed off its relentless attitude in its loss to Florida. It was a 12-round slugfest between the two teams, and the Huskies were landing more punches for much of the game.

With 12 minutes left in the game, UConn led the Gators by six points. However, Florida’s stars eventually took over, specifically Walter Clayton Jr., who scored a game-high 23 points.

All the same, UConn never backed down from the challenge. The Huskies hauled in 14 offensive rebounds compared to Florida’s 12, and squeezed twice as many turnovers out of the Gators as they committed.

UConn freshman Liam McNeeley scored a team-high 22 points while shooting 6-16 from the floor. Alex Karaban didn’t trail far behind, posting 14 points and five rebounds in the loss.

UConn won’t be the 2025 national champion but it left no doubt it was still one of the best teams in the country this season. Dan Hurley couldn’t be prouder of his team’s efforts.

“At times, I don’t we liked each other a whole lot, with some of the things we had to go through together,” Hurley said. “But, I don’t think I’ll ever love a team more for how hard they fought for what we were trying to accomplish and for the honor they played with today.”

With the win, Florida will advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since the 2016-17 season. Next weekend, the Gators will face off against the winner between Maryland and Colorado State. As of this report, the date and time of the impending showdown hasn’t been announced.