EAST LANSING — UConn coach Dan Hurley is used to hearing boos, jeers and curses directed his way when he walks onto a basketball court, but that didn’t stop Tom Izzo from asking for better hospitality from his Breslin Center crowd during the Huskies’ Oct. 20 exhibition against Michigan State.
As Hurley argued with an official during a first half stoppage, fans in the Izzone student section chanted “F- Dan Hurley.” Izzo, in response, walked down the court during a timeout and motioned them to cut it out.
No. 5 UConn won the top-10 exhibition game, 78-70, as No. 6 Michigan State gave up 14 offensive rebounds and shot 3-for-20 from 3-point range.
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Izzone crowd chants “F- Dan Hurley” as he argues with a call, and Tom Izzo tells them to cut it out. pic.twitter.com/PqhMrUGjv0
— Connor Earegood (@ConnorEaregood) October 20, 2026
Hurley is known for his passionate exchanges with officials, a catalog including a memorable headbutt — really, forehead-to-forehead staredown — of referee Roger Ayers in the Elite Eight last season.
“Obviously, the fans turned on me at different points in the game, and rightfully so,” Hurley said. “It was their first time seeing the antics, but as much as they were mean to me, I root for them.”
The son of hall of fame St. Anthony’s coach Bob, Hurley has won two national championships, in 2023 and 2024, and his Huskies lost to Michigan in the national championship game in April.
“He's a good coach, and he's done a good job,” Izzo said. “They're tough.”
Izzo is 1-1 against Hurley in regular season and postseason games, with a 64-60 win over UConn in the Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 25, 2021, and a 67-63 loss to UConn in the Sweet 16 of last year's NCAA Tournament March 27, 2026. However, Hurley's teams claimed both sides of an exhibition series, in Hartford last season and East Lansing on Tuesday.
After the game, Hurley effused praise on Izzo during his postgame press conference. He called Izzo “your coach’s favorite coach” and said it was his dream to coach at Breslin Center since he watched now-Alabama coach Nate Oats coach Romulus High in the MHSAA state championship there while recruiting Detroit’s own E.C. Matthews to Rhode Island in the early 2010s. He went so far as to say he roots for the Spartans when his team isn’t matched up against them.
Before the game, Hurley and Izzo shared a hearty hug and a few backslaps.
“This was the best game we could have played in the country,” Izzo said. “We couldn’t have played a better team, better coach, better offense than they run.”
Ditto from Hurley.
“For us as a program, when we go and play a lot of places, we feel like we go in with a culture advantage,” Hurley said. “We go in with a toughness advantage. And we tried to make it clear to the players that there’s no culture advantage when you play Michigan State. Their culture … I mean, those guys are soldiers.”
@ConnorEaregood
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tom Izzo stops MSU fans swearing at Dan Hurley: 'Your coach's favorite coach'