Dan Hurley and his UConn players will eat their Thanksgiving meal on Wednesday – not on Thursday like everyone else in America.
Why?
Because the No. 3 Huskies face No. 8 Illinois in a 12:30 tip on Friday afternoon at Madison Square Garden and Hurley wants his players sharp.
“We’re going to celebrate out Thanksgiving on Wednesday as a team,” Hurley, the Jersey City native and former Seton Hall guard, told reporters.
“We’re not going to eat the f—ing tryptophan on Thursday and be sluggish as s–t on Friday,” he told reporters.
The Huskies are coming off a 72-49 beatdown of Bryant in which transfer guard Silas Demary Jr. went for a triple-double of 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Both Tarris Reed. Jr and Braylon Mullins sat out the game with ankle injuries after Hurley appeared to throw shade at his medical staff for their absences in the loss to No. 4 Arizona last Wednesday.
The Huskies are not participating in a “Feast Week” event this year after going 0-3 in the Maui Invitational a year ago.
Last December, Hurley, whose team has won back-to-back NCAA championships in 2023 and ’24, said his team would never compete “in another three-game MTE [multi-team event] again.
“Moving forward, we will only play home-and-homes or single-game events,” he said. “… I don’t think I’ll ever do a 3-game MTE again. There’s zero chance I ever do that again.”
“Feast Week” begins Monday with events like the Players Era Championship in Las Vegas – featuring Rutgers and No. 14 St. John’s – and the Maui Invitational, including Seton Hall.
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