How UConn prepared to chase its third title in four years - ESPN

Editor's note: This story first ran on March 4, before the 2026 men's NCAA tournament field was set. Silas Demary Jr. has also since suffered a high ankle sprain.

HARTFORD, Conn. — «Dynasty» occupied Dan Hurley's mind for eight straight months.

Fresh off UConn's 2023 and 2024 national championships, the Huskies coach ordered bracelets inscribed with the word for the team. He opened their first offseason practice with highlights of the Chicago Bulls' three-peat from the 1990s. He saved a book about legendary UCLA coach John Wooden to read just before the 2024-25 season.

The focus was singular: do what hasn't been done in men's college basketball since Wooden and those Bruins did it more than 50 years ago — win a third straight title.

Hurley set the bar so high that when his team matched the total number of their nonconference losses from the previous season before November of 2024 was even over, it felt as if they had crashed down to earth.

«Last year's experience was grueling and miserable for the most part,» Hurley told ESPN in early February. «When you're used to dominant national championship runs and that [becomes] more of a survival fest, the ego explodes and the frustration builds and the disappointment, the resentment and you're tough to be around and you're tough for yourself to be around.»

The Huskies went on to finish third in the Big East Conference and entered the 2025 NCAA tournament as an 8-seed before eventual champion Florida sent them packing in the second round. The pressure proved insurmountable for a roster that featured only three players from those title-winning teams. Hurley knew he had put the burden of championship expectations on a group that hadn't earned them. He knew he had to adjust for