Dan Hurley: I thought NCAA tournament ref was looking to 'chest-bump' - ESPN

UConn coach Dan Hurley downplayed his bizarre interaction with an official at the end of Sunday's historic NCAA tournament victory against Duke, saying he thought the veteran referee was looking to «chest-bump me to celebrate.»

UConn completed one of the biggest comebacks in NCAA tournament history when freshman Braylon Mullins drained a 35-foot 3-point attempt to give the Huskies a 73-72 lead with 0.4 seconds remaining in their Elite Eight game against the Blue Devils.

In the immediate aftermath of Mullins' shot, cameras showed an elated Hurley walking away from the UConn bench area and appearing to bump heads for a few seconds with official Roger Ayers, before both men continued to walk in opposite directions.

Hurley, addressing the now-viral incident during an interview this week with the «Triple Option» podcast, said Ayers is an «easy guy to work with» and denied that there was any animosity between the two of them during the game.

«Really, at that point in the game, we had it won,» Hurley said. «And [Ayers is] such an easy guy to work with during the game, that I thought he was coming over to chest-bump me to celebrate the shot.»

Hurley was not called for a technical foul, and UConn ultimately won after Duke's desperation inbounds attempt was denied, securing the Huskies' eighth Final Four trip and their third in four years under Hurley.

The NCAA announced its 11 officials for the Final Four on Monday, one day after UConn rallied from a 19-point deficit to beat Duke in the tournament's East Regional final.

Specific game assignments were not included in the NCAA's announcement, but the list of officials did not include Ayers, who has officiated seven Final Fours, including last year's.

Hurley referred to Ayers as a