Two years ago, Jim Calhoun was playing out this same scene, cutting down his own set of nets and giving Connecticut its third national title. Then he left the program in academic disrepair to go play golf and had former player turned assistant Kevin Ollie stick around to clean up the mess. Most programs don’t survive. But Connecticut was different.
Shabazz Napier turned in another all-court masterpiece Monday night to lift Connecticut to a 60-54 win over Kentucky’s freshmen and a national title hardly anyone saw coming.
Shabazz Napier scored 22 points and Connecticut got the best of Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament championship game on Monday night. It marks the fourth title for the Huskies in 15 years.
When the Wildcats of Kentucky start a lineup of all freshmen against Connecticut in tonight’s national championship game at AT&T Stadium, it will be the first time in a final since the Fab Five of Michigan did so in losing to Duke in 1992.
At this point, it seems to be a daily routine. Brush your teeth, eat lunch, get annoyed by bad drivers on the way to work, and, of course, watch Aaron Harrison hit a huge 3-pointer as Kentucky wins a thriller.
ARLINGTON, Texas
This is the new normal. The way college basketball will look more often than not each March.
ARLINGTON, Texas — John Calipari insisted last that his basketball team never bought into 40-0.
Shortly after UConn upset Florida, 63-55, TBS cut to the March Madness Music Festival, where Las Vegas-natives The Killers were performing.
Connecticut will not ride a one-man gang into the national championship game this time.
The Gators have won all 30 games they’ve played since a loss at Connecticut on Dec. 2. The teams meet again today in the Final Four. They both have changed and they both have stayed the same.
Three years ago, Connecticut won the national championship. Shabazz Napier was a freshman on that team. So too was Roscoe Smith.
Bad weather in Dallas gave the sports media world something to focus their gripes on. It really could have been anything, though.
Cinderella stayed home. Forget that Kentucky is an 8 seed and Connecticut a 7. Of those teams that have advanced to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, all are major programs and three have won multiple national championships.
