How ironic, if not miraculous, that the UConn men’s basketball players represent the university and play the game with poise and composure so completely lacking in their head coach.

The latest iteration of Dan Hurley’s volatility came last Saturday night in Providence, when despite a 14-point victory (and a 26-point lead at one point), he tried to provoke a heckling Providence fan. Video on social media shows Hurley pointing to a fan moments after the final buzzer.

“Look at this guy,” Hurley said, as security personnel tried to escort him from the floor. “Come here. Come here. You’ll get hurt.”

Two police officers, with whom Hurley never made eye contact, said something to Hurley, who then walked into the tunnel with both arms raised, pointing both index fingers to the heavens, to the cheers of other assorted bozos in the crowd. It was a mannerism not all that unlike Richard Nixon’s victory pose, which would make it hilarious, if it weren’t so pathetic.

Hurley’s behavior is deteriorating faster than we can lower our standards. And make no mistake: Our standards are sinking like an organized crime informant, given that nary a peep has been heard from his superiors (if he has any) at UConn or anywhere else in state leadership, whose silence tacitly condones such crudeness.

It was not the first time Hurley engaged with fans during the Providence game. Earlier in the season, after UConn’s loss to Creighton, Hurley told a spectator, “If you reach over, he’ll knock you out,” referring to the security leading him off the floor. The next day, Hurley responded to the incident by posting a video likening himself to a character in a video game.

It’s all funny, apparently.

And so I ask:

Is anybody at UConn in charge of this man?

Since when is it permissible for the highest paid state employee to even provoke a heckler, let alone threaten one?

Have we all fallen this far into bed with the UConn brand that we’re all afraid to tell the truth?

I’m guessing all those football fans in the south weren’t yelling their favorite shrimp and grits recipes at Nick Saban or Steve Spurrier all those years. Ever see them pull a Hurley?

In the old days, I heard hundreds and hundreds of Providence fans call Jim Calhoun unspeakable things. Never once did Calhoun react, in spite of rarely being afraid to show his emotions during the game. It’s called professionalism.

Makes you wonder: What if Hurley ever encountered what Calhoun did in the postgame press conference the day Ken Krayeske ambushed him with questions about his salary? Calhoun told him to shut up and get some facts. Would Hurley do a full nutty, stand on the podium and do the Superfly Snuka thing, raining down on Krayeske?

Of course, if he did, he’d probably get applause. Nothing to see here. Move along, move along. Just coach being coach. What, it’s a crime to be full of hiss and vinegar?

I get that many of Hurley’s sycophants will point the finger at the Providence people here with an absorbing, “They started it.” I’ll be the first to say that many Providence fans appear to have liquor cabinets better stocked than their bookshelves. But a high-profile coach who has been in hostile arenas his whole life ought to try remaining above the fray. Not creating one.

It’s clear Hurley answers to nobody. Which makes this week somewhere between fascinating and cringe-worthy. The Huskies are off to the World’s Most Famous Arena and all the percolating emotions that accompany the Big East tournament. Is he going to flip his noodle? Will anybody care if he does?

Because if it’s asking too much to require the face of defending national champions to act with some decorum, then we might as well complete the full flush. We appear to be swirling the bowl anyway.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro