The 2024 college basketball season is about to begin ... and Dan Hurley tells TMZ Sports his UConn program is running at a "super high level" of confidence as they prepare for a three-peat!!
The 51-year-old head coach was out greeting fans in New York City ... a couple weeks before the Huskies' first regular season game on November 6 in Storrs, Connecticut.
All eyes are on the back-to-back NCAA champions leading into the 2024-25 season ... and Hurley -- who decided to stay with UConn instead of joining the Los Angeles Lakers -- mentioned their recent success has increased the team's self-assurance, which will be crucial as they try to defend their title yet again.
"I think we're even more urgent to keep the program where it is, you know, but now we got a super high level of confidence," Hurley said.
"So, we're even more urgent than ever, but the confidence is now high."
In fact, Hurley compared their desire for a three-peat to needing oxygen ... that's how badly they want it.
The Huskies would be the first college hoops team to pull it off since the historic John Wooden-led UCLA squads did it in the '60s and early '70s.
Needless to say ... Hurley believes the Huskies can do just that.