Dan Hurley Sounds Like He Doesn't Want To Face Duke In Elite Eight

The East region in the 2026 NCAA Tournament is stacked. No. 1 Duke, No. 5 St. John's, No. 2 UConn and No. 3 Michigan State are all headed to Washington, D.C. for the Sweet 16, providing Capital One Arena with four of the winningest Division I men's college basketball teams of all-time (all four rank in the Top 25 in all-time wins). 

One might think that UConn head coach Dan Hurley wouldn't want to see St. John's in the Elite Eight if the Huskies defeat Michigan State in the Sweet 16 (since St. John's beat UConn by 20 points in the Big East championship), but it sounds like the opposite is true. Of course, the option is Duke, the No. 1 overall seed in the entire tournament, so Hurley seems to prefer to take his chances with UConn's Big East rival. 

"It will be a live building," Hurley said. "It's probably a little bit early, but obviously, I think we've got to support each other. It's pretty brutal on Twitter, I think, and socials between our fan bases, but I think we have to try to come together Friday night against our opponent so we can have a bloodbath on Sunday."

UConn coach Dan Hurley urged Huskies fans to pull for St. John’s over Duke in the Sweet 16, hinting the Blue Devils are the matchup he’d rather avoid in the Elite Eight.

(Kyle Ross/Imagn Images)

Because Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games happen in the same arena, it creates a weird situation where, if fans are distributed evenly, half the fans are there primarily for one game (with half of those rooting for one team) and the other half are there primarily for the other. So, Hurley suggests that UConn fans root for St. John's against Duke and St. John's fans stick around and root for UConn against Michigan State. 

It's understandable that Hurley would want the building on his team's side when they take the court against the third-seeded Spartans in the second game of the night. However, it's hard to ignore the implication of what Hurley is saying by encouraging UConn fans to cheer for St. John's: he doesn't want to face Duke in the Elite Eight. 

Also, if St. John's manages to beat Duke, it's hard to imagine the fans sticking around to cheer for Big East rival UConn. So, really, it seems that Hurley's words are meant for UConn fans. Which, again, only makes the implication clearer that he doesn't want his team to have to face Duke and projected Top 3 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, Cameron Boozer. 

This makes sense. Duke is a better team than St. John's, which is why the Blue Devils are seeded higher. KenPom rates the Blue Devils as the third-best team in the country with St. John's sitting at No. 16. 

It's just a little surprising to hear Hurley say it out loud. Sure, he couched it as being more about two Big East teams reaching the Elite Eight and giving his team additional fan support in the Sweet 16, but all I heard was, "We'd much rather face St. John's, a team that has beaten us twice this year, than Duke." 

We'll see if Hurley gets his wish on Friday night.