UConn head coach Dan Hurley had a message for his critics after guiding the Huskies to their sixth consecutive victory following a winless showing at last month's Maui Invitational.
"I'm not sure how many people - at that point in Maui - were on their stupid podcasts saying we'd be 10-3," Hurley told reporters Saturday after UConn's 78-74 win over Butler, including The Field of 68. "Not all podcasts are stupid, but some of them are. Some of them say stupid shit."
The two-time defending national champions nearly fell out of the AP Top 25 poll after going 0-3 in Hawaii.
UConn has gone 6-0 since the multi-team event, including a pair of ranked victories and a true road win at Texas.
The Huskies entered Saturday's contest against the Bulldogs boasting KenPom's third-best offensive rating (124.5 points per 100 possessions). However, they've dropped to 96th in defensive rating after finishing each of the previous two campaigns as a top-10 unit.
UConn's defense did just enough to hold off Butler's comeback bid. Hurley's squad tallied 11 points off turnovers and held Bulldogs leading scorer Jahmyl Telfort to just seven points on 3-of-12 shooting.
The 11th-ranked Huskies improved to 10-0 all time vs. Butler.
"It's always a thrill to come to Hinkle (Fieldhouse). It's always a thrill to play in Indiana. It's like the holy land of basketball," Hurley said, per Joe Arruda of The Hartford Courant. "I thought the game was very similar to last year's game, where we had to just fight for our lives to get out of here with a Big East road win."
Hurley added: "We're nowhere near where we're going to be. But, while we're trying to figure ourselves out, we've just got to find a way to win games and execute and have poise down the stretch."
