UConn HC Dan Hurley admits he ‘mismanaged’ his bench in February

Dan Hurley made a surprise admission about his rotation management following the No. 5 UConn Huskies’ win over the Villanova Wildcats on Saturday evening.

Hurley is going through his eighth season with the Huskies. Having won national championships in 2023 and 2024, he shines as one of the top coaches in college basketball.

For all his many strengths, Hurley isn’t perfect. He even said as much following UConn’s win over Villanova, criticizing himself over his utilization of bench players in past weeks this season.

“I just think I did a bad job with some of these guys. Like Jalen Stewart is a heck of a player. Like he’s a guy when we were winning games, those big non-conference games; Florida, Illinois, BYU when they were healthy. He was a big part of it, and I just did a bad job as a coach of connecting with my player, letting him know I got confidence in him,” Hurley said, via TNT Sports.

“Sometimes, as a coach, when a guy’s playing bad, especially bench players, you just (think), ‘this guy stinks. I’m not playing them,’ or ‘I’m going to have a quick hook,’ and I think I’ve mismanaged my bench probably for the last two weeks. I got to get those guys on the court, because they’re a big reason why we had some of the best non-conference wins of anyone this year.”

"I think I mismanaged my bench, probably for the last 2 weeks."

Dan Hurley spoke on accountability as a coach with @jamalmashburn after his Huskies bench showed up big in the win pic.twitter.com/z3SZJEAy6F

— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) February 22, 2026

How Dan Hurley, UConn performed against Villanova

It’s great news for Dan Hurley to have addressed that issue, helping UConn take down Villanova 73-63 in convincing fashion.

Three players scored in double-digits for UConn in the win. Alex Karaban led the way with a stat line of 12 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and one steal. Tarris Reed Jr. came next with 11 points and six rebounds, Braylon Mullins had 10 points and three rebounds, while Silas Demary Jr. and Solo Ball delivered nine points each.

UConn improved to a 25-3 overall record on the season, going 15-2 in its Big East matchups so far. They sit at second place in the conference standings, being above Villanova and the Seton Hall Pirates while trailing the St. John’s Red Storm.

The No. 5 Huskies will look forward to their next matchup, being at home. They host the No. 17 Red Storm as tip-off will take place on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. ET.

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