By: T-Nap
UConn won their 2nd straight NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Championship, defeating Purdue 75 to 60. UConn was the ultimate example of perfect team-basketball. The Huskies of UConn featured many talented players on this years NCAA champion team but UConn and Head Coach, Dan Hurley proved that if you put team before self, amazing things can happen!
While watching UConn all tournament long absolutely dominate their opponents there was one huge thing I noticed, they don’t have any selfishness, never afraid to pass the ball, they took majority of their shots at the perfect time..NO BALL HOGS! The starting-5 for UConn all averaged double-digit points this season and that is because they are absolute experts at sharing the ball. The Huskies play extremely quick-paced and move the ball around with near-perfection. UConn didn’t always have the height or overall talent certain opponents had, but they proved as they did during their 2023 Championship run that it’s about TEAM over Individual!
All 5 starters for UConn were heavy contributors all-season long; Tristian Newton (15.1 ppg), Cam Spencer (14.3 ppg), Alex Karaban (13.3 ppg), Donovan Clingan (13.0 ppg), Stephon Castle (11.1 ppg). Tristian Newton who was unstoppable in Monday night’s championship game was named MVP of the Final-4. Newton netted 20 points and had 7 assists. It was once again a tremendous and dominant team-win for UConn as 4 of their 5 starters scored in the double-digits.
“UConn’s title team in 2023 won by an average of 20 points per game or 120 total points. UConn lost five of its top eight scorers from that team. And perhaps the most compelling argument for the singular dominance of this run is that the teams UConn did it with were completely different, indicative of the distinctly different era they achieved it in. The previous two teams to go back-to-back before UConn were Billy Donovan’s Florida squads in 2006 and 2007 and Mike Krzyzewski’s Duke teams in 1991 and 1992.“ (Pete Thamel, ESPN)
Congratulations to Head Coach, Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies! UConn is the team that every Basketball team should strive to be like! They were self-less, they kept their foot on the gas-pedal and never let off regardless of what seed their opponent was and they proved the importance and success that is possible of playing as a team of five over five individuals.
UConn Tournament Run:
Round of 64: (3/22) VS #16 Stetson Win 91-52
Round of 32: (3/24) VS #9 Northwestern Win 75-58
Round of 16: (3/28) VS #5 San Diego State Win 82-52
Round of 8: (3/30) VS #3 Illinois Win 77-52
Final-4: (4/6) VS #4 Alabama Win 86-72
NCAA Division 1 Championship: (4/8) VS #1 Purdue Win 75-60
