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UConn coach Dan Hurley ejected after pumping up crowd during matchup against No. 8 Villanova

Connecticut coach Dan Hurley
UConn coach Dan Hurley walks off the court after being ejected during the first half of their game against Villanova on Tuesday. (AP/Jessica Hill)

UConn head coach Dan Hurley was ejected Tuesday night after receiving a technical foul for pumping up Huskies fans at the XL Center.

Hurley, late in the first half of No. 21 UConn’s 71-69 win over No. 8 Villanova, picked up a technical foul after yelling at an official and slapping the side of the scorers' table.

Hurley then turned to the home crowd and started trying to hype fans up. Almost instantly, he was handed a second technical foul and thrown out of the game.

“It’s happened to me before, so I obviously knew how to walk out,” Hurley said, via The Athletic’s Charlotte Carroll. “It was surreal. I was stunned.”

UConn held a one-point lead before the technicals resulted in a 6-0 Wildcats run after Collin Gillespie hit three of four free throws and Jermaine Samuels made a 3-pointer.

Though Hurley didn't see it firsthand, UConn secured a massive win after he was sent to the locker room.

The Huskies, who held a one-point lead at halftime, did not give up a Villanova field goal in the final two minutes of the game although a pair of Brandon Slater free throws in the final minute gave the Wildcats a four-point lead.

UConn closed the game on a 6-0 run thanks to a Tyler Polley bucket from behind the arc, and an R.J. Cole layup after a huge steal from Gillespie sealed the win for the Huskies.

Gillespie led Villanova with 17 points and four assists. Brandon Slater added 17 points, and Jermaine Samuels finished with 13. Villanova had won five straight before Tuesday's loss.

Adama Sanogo led UConn with 20 points and six rebounds while shooting 8-of-14 from the field, and Isaiah Whaley added 13 points. Cole finished the night with 12 points. The Huskies have won four straight and five of their last six.