The Final Four is a Business Trip

The Story: Dan Hurley shocked his players back to reality yesterday as the Huskies were back at practice and preparing for Saturday’s Final Four matchup with Miami.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: The Final Four is the least normal games of the entire college basketball season. The Huskies returned from Las Vegas as a Final Four participant and the entire world was anointing them as favorites to win the national title. Everyone wants an interview, an autograph and a picture.

• The team had two days to react to the love and then had to practice yesterday. Hurley didn’t like the tone and lit into the team.

• The final practice in Storrs will happen today and the team will head to Houston for the Final Four. Tomorrow is the final practice before the open shootaround on Friday, which is more like a circus than a practice.

REMEMBER JANUARY! UConn’s roller coaster season may help Hurley get the players focused for Saturday. There is little doubt UConn is as good as it was when it hit No. 2 in the Associated Press poll in December, but in the span of two weeks in January, the Huskies lost five games and were nearly back on the NCAA Tournament bubble. We can’t remember a team that dropped so quickly only to rise again, but if there is any team in the country that knows how quickly fortune can change, it’s UConn.

WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “I jumped them [yesterday] in practice because they’ve gotta get their heads out of their phones. There’s obviously a lot of media and attention that comes with this that’s great for the university. It’s great for the basketball program. When you get on this stage, it’s a great opportunity for everyone, but we’ve got to be focused on the work. We’ve got, like, 101 hours or something — no one’s counting, but like 101 hours until we play. And we need to be completely immersed in our work and in preparation for [Miami].”

BIG FAVORITES: UConn is the odds-on favorite to win the national championship. In fact, the Huskies are -125 to win the title, which means they are better than even money.

• It isn’t just that UConn is the most dominant team in the NCAA Tournament. It is likely the most dominant team in the entire country this season. Its advanced metrics are comparable to what Kansas put up a year ago as a No. 1 seed. UConn, in fact, is rated higher on KenPom than Kansas was a year ago. Does that mean anything? No. It just helps explain why the Huskies are the heavy favorites. It’s not only they have been the best team in the tournament. They have been the best team all year.

ALLEYNE BREAKS OUT: It took all season, but Nahiem Alleyne has shaken off the poor shooting. He’s scored 29 points in the NCAA Tournament, including eight off the bench in the regional final.

— John Silver

Top photo: Tristen Newton goes up for a layup in UConn’s game against Stonehill. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)