Dan Hurley continues to move up the list of all-time Duke basketball villains

Dan Hurley is a tremendous basketball coach. He's also a petulant child who consistently throws tantrums during games more befitting a kindergarten classroom than a college basketball arena.

Hurley has won two national titles at UConn and led the Huskies to three of the last four Final Fours. Being the brother of Duke legend Bobby Hurley, Blue Devil fans would normally have a soft spot for a guy like him.

But even if you wanted to, he's made it impossible with his antics and his unrepentant trash-talking.

Duke lost to UConn in the Elite Eight last season in heartbreaking fashion. We don't have to rehash it here. You all remember. You will always remember.

But in case you forgot, Hurley and UConn are making sure that memory remains fresh. In its official non-conference scheduling announcement, UConn poked fun at Duke in the notes for their upcoming matchup on November 25th:

That's the play-by-play call of the final moments of last year's Elite Eight matchup, culminating in Braylon Mullins' game-winning three to stun Duke at the buzzer.

Of course, that pot shot would carry more weight had UConn then gone on to win the national championship. Instead, they fell short in the title game to Michigan, so maybe it's a bit strange to be holding onto that one result so closely?

Jon Scheyer and Duke will have plenty of motivation for this season's UConn matchup

There may not be a more anticipated non-conference matchup for Duke fans this year than the game against UConn in Las Vegas the day before Thanksgiving.

The latest shot at Duke isn't the first of the offseason for Hurley and UConn, either. Without naming the Blue Devils specifically, his comments at the NBA Summer League about recruiting certainly ruffled the feathers of Duke fans.

"We've had the second most amount of players drafted in the last four, five years, but we also have National Championships to show for it and Finals appearances to show for it," Hurley said. "We don't hang our hats on just getting our guys to the NBA or just getting to championship games. We're able to do both..."

Duke has the top number of players selected during that span, so it was always obvious who he was talking about. Add in the fact that Scheyer hasn't yet gotten the Blue Devils to the mountaintop, and you have your answer.

If that wasn't enough already, there was also Nikolas Khamenia's decision to leave Duke in the Transfer Portal for UConn. Khamenia hitting the portal wasn't a stunner, though Duke preferred to keep him, but his decision to join the team that ripped Duke's hearts out in the Elite Eight was a slap in the face.

Duke and UConn have long been rivals in college basketball, playing numerous high-profile games, including several in the NCAA Tournament. Unfortunately, UConn has gotten the better of Duke in the last three March Madness meetings.

That includes a stunning upset in the 1999 National Championship Game, the 2004 Final Four, and last season's Elite Eight.

Hurley has built a consistent winner at UConn again. He's going to continue to be a thorn in Scheyer's side over the coming years. Duke needs to exorcize that demon. A regular-season win won't be enough to do it fully, but it would be a cathartic start.

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