UConn is getting killed with foul calls, they’re going to have to adapt. It’s the only thing keeping Michigan in the game.

(04-06-2026 08:35 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  UConn is getting killed with foul calls, they’re going to have to adapt. It’s the only thing keeping Michigan in the game.

12-16 from the line for UConn vs 25-28 for Michigan. Tough to overcome a disparity like that, I think it was the difference in the game.

Oh well, was a great run. Going to miss all of the guys who are departing

Congrats to UConn and their fans on a great season. I doubted they'd be able to hang with Michigan, but I was wrong. A couple more made shots and a more evenly officiated game and it could have had a different ending. Way to rep the Big East once again.

(04-07-2026 05:32 AM)Nameless Wrote:  

(04-06-2026 08:35 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  UConn is getting killed with foul calls, they’re going to have to adapt. It’s the only thing keeping Michigan in the game.

12-16 from the line for UConn vs 25-28 for Michigan. Tough to overcome a disparity like that, I think it was the difference in the game.

Oh well, was a great run. Going to miss all of the guys who are departing

Yes, it was completely the difference. UConn outscored Michigan from the floor 51-44. UConn fought the good fight, but in the end they just ran out of miracles.

There’s a lesson to be learned here for Hurley - if he wants to learn it. It doesn’t matter if you’re right in your complaints about the refs. If you want to win, you have to find ways to help your players adjust to how the game is being called.

Thanks to everyone who engaged the conversation this year. Much appreciated!

Congrats to UConn on an outstanding season. Another excellent effort from Dan Hurley and his players.

(04-07-2026 08:45 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(04-07-2026 05:32 AM)Nameless Wrote:  

(04-06-2026 08:35 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  UConn is getting killed with foul calls, they’re going to have to adapt. It’s the only thing keeping Michigan in the game.

12-16 from the line for UConn vs 25-28 for Michigan. Tough to overcome a disparity like that, I think it was the difference in the game.

Oh well, was a great run. Going to miss all of the guys who are departing

Yes, it was completely the difference. UConn outscored Michigan from the floor 51-44. UConn fought the good fight, but in the end they just ran out of miracles.

There’s a lesson to be learned here for Hurley - if he wants to learn it. It doesn’t matter if you’re right in your complaints about the refs. If you want to win, you have to find ways to help your players adjust to how the game is being called.

Thanks to everyone who engaged the conversation this year. Much appreciated!

it's not quite as glaring as you might think- 6 of the Michigan free throws were in the last 2 minutes of the game fouling on purpose. A 22-16 margin first 38 minutes is not nothing, but it's not really that crazy either. Now Michigan was 21-22 in first 38 minutes while UConn was 12-16 so a 9 point gap is definitely something.

(04-07-2026 11:36 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(04-07-2026 08:45 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(04-07-2026 05:32 AM)Nameless Wrote:  

(04-06-2026 08:35 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  UConn is getting killed with foul calls, they’re going to have to adapt. It’s the only thing keeping Michigan in the game.

12-16 from the line for UConn vs 25-28 for Michigan. Tough to overcome a disparity like that, I think it was the difference in the game.

Oh well, was a great run. Going to miss all of the guys who are departing

Yes, it was completely the difference. UConn outscored Michigan from the floor 51-44. UConn fought the good fight, but in the end they just ran out of miracles.

There’s a lesson to be learned here for Hurley - if he wants to learn it. It doesn’t matter if you’re right in your complaints about the refs. If you want to win, you have to find ways to help your players adjust to how the game is being called.

Thanks to everyone who engaged the conversation this year. Much appreciated!

it's not quite as glaring as you might think- 6 of the Michigan free throws were in the last 2 minutes of the game fouling on purpose. A 22-16 margin first 38 minutes is not nothing, but it's not really that crazy either. Now Michigan was 21-22 in first 38 minutes while UConn was 12-16 so a 9 point gap is definitely something.

7 minutes into the 2nd half, 15 fouls had been called on UConn and 6 on Michigan. The FT differential was 14-15 for Michigan and 4-6 for UConn. That’s glaring. It started to get closer after that, but by that time the damage had been done. UConn was down by 11 and trying to mount a comeback back.

But the real damage was the fact that the UConn guards were forced to spend time on the bench right from the first quarter on. Solo Ball came out hitting his shots and looking like he was going to have a big night. But he went to the bench with 2 fouls less than 8 minutes into the game. Silas Demary had already gone to the bench with 2 fouls a minute earlier. They played a combined 37 minutes. Their backups combined for 39 minutes. What team is going to win a national championship game with their starting backcourt spending most of the game on the bench?

With Ball out of the game, it put pressure on Mullins to take more shots than he normally would - 17 shots, his 2nd most of the season. Unfortunately for UConn, Mullins’ shots were not falling. Ball’s backup, Jayden Ross, took only 2 shots in 19 minutes. He’s not a shooter. Obviously.

If Hurley would spend less time complaining about the refs and more time teaching his players to play tough defense without fouling, they might not have games like this. St. John’s showed this year that it’s possible to both play tough defense and not to commit more fouls than your opponents.

(04-07-2026 11:36 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(04-07-2026 08:45 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(04-07-2026 05:32 AM)Nameless Wrote:  

(04-06-2026 08:35 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  UConn is getting killed with foul calls, they’re going to have to adapt. It’s the only thing keeping Michigan in the game.

12-16 from the line for UConn vs 25-28 for Michigan. Tough to overcome a disparity like that, I think it was the difference in the game.

Oh well, was a great run. Going to miss all of the guys who are departing

Yes, it was completely the difference. UConn outscored Michigan from the floor 51-44. UConn fought the good fight, but in the end they just ran out of miracles.

There’s a lesson to be learned here for Hurley - if he wants to learn it. It doesn’t matter if you’re right in your complaints about the refs. If you want to win, you have to find ways to help your players adjust to how the game is being called.

Thanks to everyone who engaged the conversation this year. Much appreciated!

it's not quite as glaring as you might think- 6 of the Michigan free throws were in the last 2 minutes of the game fouling on purpose. A 22-16 margin first 38 minutes is not nothing, but it's not really that crazy either. Now Michigan was 21-22 in first 38 minutes while UConn was 12-16 so a 9 point gap is definitely something.

Just some egregiously bad calls. I thought the Cadeau 3 that lead to 3 attempts was a bad call (contact before he was shooting) but I can live with that. It's calls like the Reed moving screen to pick up his 2nd with 5+ minutes left in the first when he didn't even set a moving screen. Johnson setting a moving screen on Demary and Demary getting called for his 3rd in the process. Johnson with an obvious charge on Ball that was called a block for Ball to pick up #2. The "hook and hold" where they got tangled up and there was no real hold by Karaban. Not to even mention how physical they were with us while rarely being called for anything.

Someone posted an interesting stat. Hurley and Breeding have a known history with one another. This season, when Breeding reffed UConn games the Huskies were 7-4. When he didn't, they were 26-2. Breeding was on the call tonight and made some really bad calls in favor of Michigan.

Still, had we shot even semi decent from deep we win the game regardless.

(04-08-2026 07:06 PM)Nameless Wrote:  

(04-07-2026 11:36 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(04-07-2026 08:45 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(04-07-2026 05:32 AM)Nameless Wrote:  

(04-06-2026 08:35 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  UConn is getting killed with foul calls, they’re going to have to adapt. It’s the only thing keeping Michigan in the game.

12-16 from the line for UConn vs 25-28 for Michigan. Tough to overcome a disparity like that, I think it was the difference in the game.

Oh well, was a great run. Going to miss all of the guys who are departing

Yes, it was completely the difference. UConn outscored Michigan from the floor 51-44. UConn fought the good fight, but in the end they just ran out of miracles.

There’s a lesson to be learned here for Hurley - if he wants to learn it. It doesn’t matter if you’re right in your complaints about the refs. If you want to win, you have to find ways to help your players adjust to how the game is being called.

Thanks to everyone who engaged the conversation this year. Much appreciated!

it's not quite as glaring as you might think- 6 of the Michigan free throws were in the last 2 minutes of the game fouling on purpose. A 22-16 margin first 38 minutes is not nothing, but it's not really that crazy either. Now Michigan was 21-22 in first 38 minutes while UConn was 12-16 so a 9 point gap is definitely something.

Just some egregiously bad calls. I thought the Cadeau 3 that lead to 3 attempts was a bad call (contact before he was shooting) but I can live with that. It's calls like the Reed moving screen to pick up his 2nd with 5+ minutes left in the first when he didn't even set a moving screen. Johnson setting a moving screen on Demary and Demary getting called for his 3rd in the process. Johnson with an obvious charge on Ball that was called a block for Ball to pick up #2. The "hook and hold" where they got tangled up and there was no real hold by Karaban. Not to even mention how physical they were with us while rarely being called for anything.

Someone posted an interesting stat. Hurley and Breeding have a known history with one another. This season, when Breeding reffed UConn games the Huskies were 7-4. When he didn't, they were 26-2. Breeding was on the call tonight and made some really bad calls in favor of Michigan.

Still, had we shot even semi decent from deep we win the game regardless.

I agree with you on all of those calls, Nameless. But then I’m looking at it through the eyes of an admittedly biased UConn fan.

If your theory is correct, Hurley has alienated a ref who is so highly thought of that he is assigned to the championship game. So, why does he persist in those antics at this stage of his career and persist in them to the point that it hurts his career? He has more national championships than any active coach, he is at the pinnacle of his profession, so why conduct himself in the manner that he does? He should be above all that at this point. His childish behavior and lack of restraint is just so childish. There’s a way for him to make his point and get out without dropping F bombs and deriding every ref that he encounters.

(04-08-2026 08:04 PM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(04-08-2026 07:06 PM)Nameless Wrote:  

(04-07-2026 11:36 PM)stever20 Wrote:  

(04-07-2026 08:45 AM)Bill Marsh Wrote:  

(04-07-2026 05:32 AM)Nameless Wrote:  12-16 from the line for UConn vs 25-28 for Michigan. Tough to overcome a disparity like that, I think it was the difference in the game.

Oh well, was a great run. Going to miss all of the guys who are departing

Yes, it was completely the difference. UConn outscored Michigan from the floor 51-44. UConn fought the good fight, but in the end they just ran out of miracles.

There’s a lesson to be learned here for Hurley - if he wants to learn it. It doesn’t matter if you’re right in your complaints about the refs. If you want to win, you have to find ways to help your players adjust to how the game is being called.

Thanks to everyone who engaged the conversation this year. Much appreciated!

it's not quite as glaring as you might think- 6 of the Michigan free throws were in the last 2 minutes of the game fouling on purpose. A 22-16 margin first 38 minutes is not nothing, but it's not really that crazy either. Now Michigan was 21-22 in first 38 minutes while UConn was 12-16 so a 9 point gap is definitely something.

Just some egregiously bad calls. I thought the Cadeau 3 that lead to 3 attempts was a bad call (contact before he was shooting) but I can live with that. It's calls like the Reed moving screen to pick up his 2nd with 5+ minutes left in the first when he didn't even set a moving screen. Johnson setting a moving screen on Demary and Demary getting called for his 3rd in the process. Johnson with an obvious charge on Ball that was called a block for Ball to pick up #2. The "hook and hold" where they got tangled up and there was no real hold by Karaban. Not to even mention how physical they were with us while rarely being called for anything.

Someone posted an interesting stat. Hurley and Breeding have a known history with one another. This season, when Breeding reffed UConn games the Huskies were 7-4. When he didn't, they were 26-2. Breeding was on the call tonight and made some really bad calls in favor of Michigan.

Still, had we shot even semi decent from deep we win the game regardless.

I agree with you on all of those calls, Nameless. But then I’m looking at it through the eyes of an admittedly biased UConn fan.

If your theory is correct, Hurley has alienated a ref who is so highly thought of that he is assigned to the championship game. So, why does he persist in those antics at this stage of his career and persist in them to the point that it hurts his career? He has more national championships than any active coach, he is at the pinnacle of his profession, so why conduct himself in the manner that he does? He should be above all that at this point. His childish behavior and lack of restraint is just so childish. There’s a way for him to make his point and get out without dropping F bombs and deriding every ref that he encounters.

I mean, it's not really a theory. There's a known history between the two and it shows when Breeding refs our games. Apparently Hurley isn't the only one who has had issues with him.

Hurley was very calm throughout the game. Pretty laid back for the most part this season too. I think the real questions are why a grown man like Breeding can't get over something that happened years ago when refs are supposed to be impartial, and why would he be assigned the championship game when many take issue with him?

Again though if we just made our shots we win regardless.

Wow! I didn’t know all that.

As far as shot making is concerned, Michigan was even worse from 3. Three-point shooting was pretty good in the Arizona-Michigan semi-final, but not so much in the UConn-Illinois game. The outside shooting in these football stadiums has always been a problem because of the sight lines, which favors a big team that can just pound it inside but hurts a team that relies on 3s. Being able to pack in 70,000 people is great for making money but it doesn’t make for great basketball. I heard on the radio that one of the coaches had his players practice 3s in Lucas Stadium during the week before the game. That makes a lot of sense. They should all do that before the Final Four.