STORRS, Conn. — Here they are again. The UConn men are in a familiar spot, as they enter the Final Four and take on Alabama in the national semifinal Saturday evening at 8:49 p.m. on TNT, TBS and/or truTV.
The Alabama game will mark UConn’s seventh appearance in the national semifinal. Over the course of the past six semifinal games, UConn has an impressive record of 5-1. The team won the national championship after every semifinal victory and hopes to repeat history this weekend.
1999
The UConn men made their first appearance in the Final Four in 1999 in St. Petersburg, Fla., and defeated Ohio State 64-58 in the national semifinal. UConn was led by First Team All-American and Big East Player of the Year Richard Hamilton, a junior, who scored a game high 24 points. Sophomore guard Khalid El-Amin also contributed 18 points for UConn. Two nights later, El-Amini would shout “We Shocked the World,” as the underdog Huskies took down the Duke Blue Devils in the national championship game 77-74.
2004
As the Associated Press put it, UConn used a stunning run to recapture a game that looked lost when the Huskies played Duke in the 2004 national semifinal in San Antonio, Texas. UConn trailed by eight with less than four minutes to go and pulled off a remarkable 12-0 run to take a late lead that they wouldn’t give back. First Team All-American Emeka Okafor, a junior, carried the Huskies down the stretch, as he scored 18 points, mostly in the second half, as UConn won 79-78. Outstanding junior guard Ben Gordon also scored 18. Okafor and Gordon would be drafted No. 2 and No. 3 in the NBA Draft that year respectively, only after UConn defeated Georgia Tech in the national championship game 82-73.
2009
UConn lost its only national semifinal to date in the 2009 Final Four in Detroit. Down junior guard Jerome Dyson, UConn kept it close for the entirety of the game, leading for much of the first half. It wasn’t enough, however. Michigan State guard Kalin Lucas scored 21 points for the Spartans, four more than UConn’s leading scorer, First Team All-American Hasheem Thabeet. Despite a late run, UConn came up short, falling to Michigan State 82-73.
2011
Two years later, UConn was back in the Final Four, riding the hot hand of junior First Team All-American guard Kemba Walker. Walker scored 18 points against the Wildcats in a close contest in Houston, but UConn ultimately prevailed 56-55. Forty-eight hours later, UConn defeated Butler 53-41 to secure the national championship.
2014
UConn returned to the Final Four in 2014 on the back of First Team All-American guard Shabazz Napier. Florida, the No. 1 overall seed, stood in the path of the No. 7 seed Huskies. Florida was as hot as it gets, having not lost since early December. The only thing is it was the Huskies who beat the Gators that evening on a Napier buzzer beater. Not much changed in April, only the game wasn’t as close. Behind Napier’s 12 points and junior forward Deandre Daniels’ 20 points, UConn defeated Florida 63-53, ending the Gators’ 30-game winning streak. The following Monday, UConn beat Kentucky 60-54 to win the national championship.
2023
The closest game in UConn’s current 10-game NCAA tournament winning streak came in the 2023 national semifinal, as the Huskies beat the Miami Hurricanes 72-59 in Houston. UConn’s standout junior center Adama Sanogo led the way with 21 points, as the Huskies dominated the Hurricanes. Sophomore guard Jordan Hawkins added 13 points despite playing through an illness. Two nights later, UConn defeated San Diego State 76-59 in the national championship game.
Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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