Building what the University of Connecticut built in the Jim Calhoun era will take decades of patience, dedication, and success. It took just five seasons in the American Athletic Conference to tear it all down.
Five years ago, UConn was a rapidly aging trainwreck of a men’s basketball program. The luster the Huskies had after winning the 2014 NCAA title under head coach Kevin Ollie quickly faded when the team failed to land big recruits — certainly unenthusiastic at the prospect of taking on Tulane, UCF and Tulsa in conference games play – and suffered back to back. back lost seasons.
But in 2018 — two years into his tenure at the helm of the Huskies’ athletic teams — athletic director Dave Benedict made a shocking decision when he fired Ollie. He hired a man who has a respected basketball coaching pedigree. A man who led a Rhode Island program in the dark to consecutive round of 32 appearances at the NCAA tournament. A man Benedict ended up at major conferences about schools.
It was a gamble for all parties, but it was decided that Dan Hurley was the right man to lead the Connecticut Huskies into the future. And this risk has paid off.
The gamble to hire Hurley, the gamble Hurley took when he moved to a school in need of serious identity revitalization, the gamble UConn took in 2019 by essentially sacrificing its crumbling college football program to saving the basketball team by moving to the Big East Conference – it’s all paid off. It paid off, as these words are now engraved in time:
For the fifth time in school history, the University of Connecticut Huskies have won the national championship.
The Connecticut Huskies lift the NCAA trophy after an epic win over the Aztecs
The Connecticut Huskies celebrate after their brilliant victory on Monday evening
UConn beat San Diego Aztecs 76-59 with an outstanding, dominant performance in Texas
Huskies head coach Dan Hurley is bullied by two of his players on an emotional night
With that victory, UConn tied the Blue Blood schools Duke and Indiana for the fourth-most national titles of all time and broke a deadlock with Kansas that lasted just a year. Now, after winning the title for the fifth time in 24 years, UConn can safely be counted as one of those truly elite programs.
Jordan Hawkins started the night’s scoring with a jump from the right elbow. This was quickly followed by a 3-pointer from Saturday’s hero Lamont Butler.
Mistakes for the Huskies started early as their second possession started with a rollover. Trammell scored a tre’ on her subsequent possession to take a 6-2 lead by the 18:00 mark.
Adama Sanogo’s physicality showed early on with a quick layup after assisting his defender. Aztec striker Keshad Johnson retaliated shortly thereafter.
At the media timeout below 4:00 p.m. in the first half, the game had gone back and forth as both teams missed shots and failed to catch rebounds. Things stood at 10-8.
After that timeout, teams at either end of the court traded offensive fouls before a Sanogo block sent the UConn half of NRG Stadium into a roar. Sanogo then hit a layup that leveled the contest 10-10. Minutes later, the Mali-born big man scored again to give the Huskies their first lead of the night, 12-10.
Joey Calcaterra – the former University of San Diego guard looking to beat his out-of-town rivals – hit freshman Donovan Clingan with a perfect lob pass for the slam to make it a 14-10 game at the under-12s – to take a break.
At this point in the game, the Huskies were back to doing what they’d been doing so well this season — picking up rebounds. They had eight to SDSU’s five – seven of which were defensive boards. Transfer guard Tristen Newton had four of UConn’s boards to himself while standing just 6-foot-5.
Jordan Hawkins was once a leader as UConn emerged victorious against the Aztecs
Tristen Newton pictured firing a shot Monday night as the Huskies defeated the Aztecs
Huskies guard Newton is challenged by Darrion Trammell of the Aztecs during the game
The Aztecs were frustrated by a stubborn defense by the Huskies on a tough night in Texas
Huskies guard Joey Calcaterra celebrates a dominant first half for his team on the touchline
Virginia Tech transfer guard Naheim Alleyne hit the first basket at the under 10:00 mark and Hawkins added to the scoreboard to make it 20-12 Huskies when SDSU coach Brian Dutcher called a timeout at 8:50.
After that time-out, transfer guard Matt Bradley missed his shot and Alleyne hit a perfectly executed jumper to take a double-digit lead, 22-12.
Bradley made a trip to the free throw line at 7:21 and hit the first points SDSU had scored in over three minutes. But they still had to go back to the 4:34 mark to find their last field goal. That FG drought didn’t end until 5:24 with a floater by Darrion Trammell – a miss that lasted more than 10 minutes.
Nevertheless, UConn kept collecting points. Hawkins drilled a shot from beyond the arc to make it 26-14 at the 6:35 mark. After Trammell’s field goal, Newton hit a layup, followed by a steal and a putback to make it 30-17. Moments later, he drilled a crucial threesome.
The next sequence caused a shockwave through the arena. Calcaterra was guarded by Trammell – his childhood friend. Trammell stole the ball and appeared to have a runaway down the lane. Newton fought back and the ball just didn’t go through the hoop. UConn drove up the court, and Andre Jackson Jr. handed the ball off a screen to Calcaterra.
‘Joey California’ took his shot. hiss A blast of noise from the UConn fans in the north endzone. UConn 36, SDSU 20.
Keshad Johnson broke another points drought for SDSU – this one lasted over 2:30 – and made it 36-22 as we equalized at half-time with less than a minute to go.
At the end of the half the score was 36-24 in favor of UConn. The Huskies had shot 50 percent at odds of 15/30 in the first half. Meanwhile, SDSU filmed a horrifying August 28th. Neither team was particularly good on the ball, with nine turnovers for San Diego State and eight for Connecticut.
The first try of the second half should have been a monster dunk from Hawkins, only for him to hit the back iron and fly away. His second chance shot missed and Bradley went down the court, breaking Jackson’s ankle and dumping the first bucket after the break.
After being caught in the paint, Lamont Butler called a time-out, leaving SDSU down to two for the remainder of the game. But after that time-out, Trammell pulled a foul and conceded both free throws to reduce the deficit to ten.
The game took on a bit of back-and-forth – SDSU reduced the lead to ten, only to have UConn extend it moments later.
Newcomer Alex Karaban responded just before 5 p.m. with a shot over the arc to make it 41:28. By the time the media timed out under 16 minutes, two Johnson free throws, two Sanogo free throws and a Butler layup put things at 43-32.
The Huskies got stronger as the first half progressed and led by 14 points at halftime
Adam Seiko vies for the ball with Connecticut guard Andre Jackson Jr. in the first half
The Aztecs got off to a good start, but it didn’t take long for the huskies to settle down and snap into the aisles
When the game was less than 14 minutes, Adam Seiko had drilled a three to reduce the lead to ten. But Sanogo stood at the line and hit both free throws to make it a 47-35 contest.
San Diego State usually stays out of bad trouble, but UConn sat in the bonus until the 13:04 mark in the second half. Individual Huskies players didn’t have much of a foul risk at this point, while Nick Mensah and Darrion Trammell each had three fouls.
At the U12 media timeout, no team had hit a field goal for an extended period of time. SDSU was 3:08 without FG while UConn went without a goal for over five minutes. But as the Aztecs continued to be called out for fouls, the Huskies managed to extend their lead even further. It was up to 15 points with a 51-36 result after Alleyne bailed two coming out of the timeout.
SDSU banker Jaedon LeDee of the Final Four quickly overcame her drought. Clingan did the same on the following possession.
Butler dumped a three to cut the lead to 12. Calcaterra responded equally with an archery shot that made things 56-43 as we went under the middle of the number two half.
LeDee’s back-to-back jumpers cut the deficit to 11 points when UConn called for the timeout with 8:33 to go. The SDSU band played Muse’s song “Uprising” – the battle cry song that was the turning point of the previous game. UConn missed a shot and Keshad Johnson buried a three-pointer. On the next possession, Trammell grabbed the ball and put it in perfectly. The deficit was only six. Could this really happen again?
Shortly before a TV timeout, Sanogo was able to make up for a bad jump shot and bring the lead back to eight. The huskies staggered again. San Diego State’s fans greatly outnumbered UConn’s — possibly because SDSU’s athletic division flew 1,000 fans to Houston, which UConn didn’t.
SDSU had been relatively drought-proof up to this point in the second half. Shortly before the game had passed the six-minute mark, Trammell managed to kick the ball free to make it 60:53. By the five-minute mark, Johnson had hit two free throws to reduce the deficit to five. Hawkins brought the huskies to life with a dagger 3 pointer.
UConn was put into the double bonus at around the 6:45 mark. When Tristen Newton showed up at 3:41 to take both free throws for the Huskies, he again put a 10-point lead.
Huskies duo Jordan Hawkins and Alex Karaban stretch to slap Keshad Johnson on the ball
Aztec guard Lamont Butler and huskies guard Andre Jackson Jr. fight for the ball
Aztec’s Nathan Mensah meets Adama Sanogo in Monday night’s tip-off
There was a euphoric atmosphere in Houston in the moments leading up to the game
The San Diego team envisioned sharing one final moment before a momentous night began
It was at this point that the impact Andre Jackson Jr. had on the game became apparent. His return to the pitch after a break saw a significant improvement in defense. His vision on the pitch and his ability to distribute the ball and set up plays were in demand when Newton hit a layup to make it 67-55 at the 2:12 mark.
Seconds later, Sanogo went to the line and emptied both free throws to make it a 69-55 game when we went under with two minutes to go. Trammell buried a jumper and Brian Dutcher called after the 1:55 timeout when the Huskies had a two-point lead.
After this hiatus, the Aztecs began their full court press. UConn got the ball out, Jackson bounced the pass to Hawkins and he put it back with ease to make it 71-57.
Bradley emptied two free throws. Newton answered with two of his own. Try as they might, the Aztecs simply could not close the gap. For the sixth time in six NCAA tournament games, the Huskies brought on for the first time of the night Hasan Diarra and her companions: Apostolos Roumoglou, Richie Springs, Samson Johnson and the coach’s son, Andrew Hurley.
“Hurley, Hurley, Hurley” chants rang out throughout the arena. Last free throws were hit – the fight song played. The remodeling of the program was complete. The huskies were back in their rightful place.