I could go on and on about this team. They were confident, unfazed, smart, passionate, and many more synonyms that you may think fit those words. They become the first team since Florida in ‘06/’07 to go back-to-back, but I want to shed some light on how truly unprecedented this run was for UConn, so stick with me!
When Florida went back-to-back they returned all 5 starters from the previous season, Duke in 1992 brought back 4 starters
UConn lost their 3 best players to the NBA, and were even more dominant in year two
UConn was the first team since UCLA in 1972-73 to win consecutive national championships while averaging more than 75 points per game
Highest Points Differential in NCAA Tournament History (+140 Points)
Teams to win all of their NCAA Tournament games by at least 14 points
2024 UConn (6 games)
that’s the whole list
That is just a small piece of some UNREAL stats that are coming out of this UConn back-to-back run. UConn came into this season as a mix of really high talent but less experience. New faces in the starting lineup were plenty, and many of the main contributors from last year’s team had moved on in a variety of ways. This team, while different, was better.
The Huskies were undoubtedly the best team in the country wire-to-wire, while they battled injuries to Clingan and Castle, and scratched and clawed through the best conference in the country. This team won FIVE different trophies, Empire Classic, Big East Regular Season, Big East Tournament, NCAA East Region, NCAA National Championship. Many teams would take one or two of those and call it a successful season. This team was surely not satisfied.
The most impressive offseason move was bringing in Cam Spencer. Not only is he a highly talented basketball player, he is the definition of a junkyard dog. He was the perfect addition to this team, he wanted a championship more than anything. He was by far the scrappiest player I’ve ever seen in a UConn uniform, while also being so smooth and patient with the ball as he handles the basketball.
This team took on their head coach’s personality, and it showed on the court. Dan Hurley takes the throne as the face of men’s college basketball. Coming from basketball royalty, he is now the king of the Hurleys. Hate him or love him, he is the best coach in basketball right now. Everywhere he goes, he wins. Athletes love playing for him, UConn fans love cheering for him, and social media loves talking about him. This really feels like just the beginning of a long run of success for UConn, and I’d be shocked if they weren’t now FULLY accepted into the College Basketball Blue Blood category.
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