Sunday marked Easter and the day before the 2026 College Basketball National Championship game where the UConn Huskies are taking on the No. 1 seeded Michigan Wolverines. Huskies head coach Dan Hurley spent his Sunday in that order — observing Easter came first, then it was time to game plan.
“Once I got out of Mass this morning, now it’s preparing for Michigan,” Hurley said Sunday.
The two-time national champion is getting UConn ready for their third title game in four years. A dynasty in the works. Though Hurley leans on his faith to get through the grueling college basketball season, he’s not praying for a positive outcome on the court.
“I’m praying for strength, for all the people that I’ve lost, and I pray to God for wisdom,” Hurley told National Catholic Register after his second championship. “And I do ask that we could be at our best. But I don’t ask to win the game. I ask for everyone to be at their best.”
Psalm 23 is what Hurley says he prays every day.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever,” the passage states.
“I pray every morning because maybe of the line of work I’m in: the stress level and intensity of it. I’m an intense person, and that really resonates to me,” Hurley said. “I also like the Proverbs, the Our Father, Hail Mary and the ‘Serenity Prayer.'”
He’s a man who sticks to his routine, especially on game day. Monday, he will know nothing more or less than he does for every game day as he sets his eyes on a third title, and sixth overall, for Connecticut.
UConn is the underdog, but Hurley said his team is ready to take on a “dominant” Michigan team, adding that sometimes, the best team doesn’t cut down the nets at the end of the NCAA Tournament.
“You’ve just got to be better for one night, and obviously for us, we need to play the game a certain type of way where we obviously can’t get into a certain type of game with Michigan. They’re an incredibly dominant team,” Hurley said.
“There are no holes in their attack, they’re an elite defensive team, they’re an elite offensive team. They crush the glass.”
Michigan head coach Dusty May gave credit to Hurley and his team’s ability to fight till the end.
“They take what the games give them, they ride a hot hand … so there’s just a number of challenges,” May said. “You can’t go into this game saying if you do this, we are going to win … even if we do that well, they’re going to pivot, and we are going to have to find a way to counter that pivot.”
UConn and Michigan tip off at 8:50 p.m. ET.
.png)
.png)
