GLENDALE, Ariz.– It wasn’t that all that long ago when UCLA, Kansas, North Carolina, Duke and Kansas were designated as the blue bloods in men’s college basketball.
UConn was just starting to crack the code. The Huskies were on the verge of being nationally relevant, advancing to the West Region finals in 1995 before losing to eventual national champion UCLA.
They cracked the code in 1999 when Jim Calhoun coached the Huskies to their first national championship. And UConn has won five more in the last 25 years, defeating Purdue, 75-60, here Monday night to become the first team to win back-to-back championships since Florida in 2006-07. The Huskies’ margin of victory in this six-game gauntlet was 23.3 points.
Think about the accomplishment, especially in the era of NIL and transfer portal.
UCLA, which won 10 titles under the late John Wooden from 1965 through has won one title in the past 50 years.
Kentucky has won once since 1998.
North Carolina and Kansas have won three apiece in the last 25 years. Kansas and Villanova have won twice.
“Basketball runs through Connecticut for the last 25 to 30 years,” Huskies’ fiery coach Danny Hurley said.
Think about it.
Hopefully, Hurley will get some way to enjoy his latest triumph. the day of the national championship, there was a story out of Kentucky indicating that SEC school was willing to pay Hurley $12 million to replace John Calipari, who left college basketball’s biggest fishbowl to become the new head coach at Arkansas.
“I’m not going into the portal, I’m not,” he said. “The last thing I’m thinking about is another place. We’re in a position right now to back-to-back in an era that makes it tough to do it, and now you’re thinking about the chance to do it three times like a dynasty in modern times. That’s; what I’m thinking about.”
Danny Hurley is a Jersey boy, and his wife Andrea is a Jersey girl.
“We just went to Rhode Island, which I had to drag her too, and then to Connecticut” he said. ‘I got here closer to New Jersey. I can’t afford a divorce right now. I just started making money.”
Hurley last year signed a new contract at UConn worth $33 million.
“Kentucky can call,” UConn AD Dave Benedict said. “Yes, we will do everything we can to keep him, and I think he knows that.”
Hurley did a masterful job with this year’s 38-3 team. The Huskies, who lost three key players– Adama Sanogo, Andre Jackson and Jordan Hawkins to the NBA after the 2023 championship. were actually better this year. The Huskies have five starters– 7-2 sophomore Donovan Clingan, wings Alex Karaban and Stephon Castle, and guards Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton– who could all make NBA rosters. The 7-2 Clingan and Castle should both be lottery picks. Newton could be a first- round pick.
Of that group, only Castle was a McDonald’s All America, which speaks volumes to Hurley’s coaching and player development.
“I just think it’s the best two-years run in a very long time, just because of everything we lost from last year,” Hurley said. “To lose that much and do it again. It’s got to be as impressive a two-year run since at least prior to Duke (in 1991-92).”
Newton scored 20 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, contributed 7 assists as the Huskies won their 12th post season game in the last two years by double figures.
UConn was efficient on offense and demoralizing on defense. Sure Purdue’s 7-4 center Zach Edey got 37 points on 25 field goal attempts, and got to the line 10 times, but the Huskies erased the rest of the Boilers’ offense, especially from the three- point line.
Spencer, a transfer from Rutgers, Castle, a blue-chip freshman, and Karaban, a sophomore from last year’s team, spent the night guarding the three-point line and making life miserable for the Purdue guards.
“They just made a decision– we can defend the perimeter, and we can take this away from you, you’re going to get the ball to your best player, he’ll be one on one, and that’s that,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said.
The Huskies ran the 34-5 Big Ten regular season champs off the three-point line, making it hard, if not impossible for them to get off threes the way they did earlier in the tournament. Purdue got off just seven threes and made only one. Edey got his points, but the rest of the team only scored 23.
“The whole game plan was no Smith no Loyer, no Jones, no Gillis,” Hurley said. “We knew if we kept them below 18, 20 points, they and no chance to win.”
Hurley was as animated as ever on the sidelines, getting all over the officials over calls and even lit into Edey after he set a hard screen against Castle as he walked to the bench. The Huskies responded, taking control of the game in the second half. With 15:13 left, Newton lofted an alley-oop to valuable 6-10 backup Samson Johnson, who flushed it. Then, 43 seconds later, the same thing, sending the Huskies up by 13 and taking the heart out of the Boilers.
After the game, Hurley paid tribute to the Big East, asking commissioner Val Ackerman cut down the last string on the net, a subtle jab at the selection committee for only selecting three teams to the tournament.
