STORRS, Conn. — In the history of the illustrious program, UConn men's basketball has advanced to the "Elite 8" thirteen times. The Huskies have experienced both success and heartbreak through the years. Here’s how the Huskies have performed in what many consider to be the tournament’s toughest game to win.
2023
Last year, UConn dominated Gonzaga in the Elite 8 by a score of 82-54. The Huskies were carried by sophomore guard Jordan Hawkins, who scored 20 points, including six threes. UConn would go on to win the National Championship, the program’s fifth. Hawkins was a lottery pick in the NBA Draft several months later.
2014
On the back of senior guard Shabazz Napier, who scored 17 of his 25 points in the second half, UConn outlasted Michigan State 60-54 despite trailing at halftime. UConn would go on to win the school’s fourth National Championship, and Napier, an AP First-Team All-American, was selected in the first round of that year’s NBA Draft.
2011
This tournament was dominated by junior guard Kemba Walker, an AP First-Team All-American. He continued where he left off after beating Arizona 65-63. Walker scored 20 points, led the Huskies to their third National Championship the next weekend, and became a lottery pick in the NBA Draft. UConn fans may remember the tense final seconds of the game, during which Arizona took and missed two clean three-pointers that would have won the game.
2009
UConn outlasted Missouri 82-75 behind Kemba Walker’s 23 points. On a team filled with future NBA players, the freshman guard had the best game of his career up to that point on the biggest stage. UConn would fall the next weekend to Michigan State in the Final Four, feeling the loss of star junior guard Jerome Dyson.
2006
Can we just skip this one? 2006 was the last time UConn lost in the Elite 8, as the Huskies, a No. 1 seed, fell to No. 11 seed George Mason 86-84 in overtime. Perhaps the Huskies were too good. Maybe their eventual five draft picks, four of them first-rounders, were focused more on the upcoming NBA Draft and less on Cinderella, who pulled off one of the greatest upsets in college basketball history.
2004
The easiest Elite 8 win in UConn history came in 2004, when the Huskies dismantled No. 8 seed Alabama 87-71 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score suggests. The Huskies, who went on to win the program’s second national title, were led in that game by star junior guard Ben Gordon’s 36 points. That June, Gordon was drafted third in the NBA Draft, one pick behind UConn center Emeka Okafor.
2002
The 2002 Huskies fell just short of eventual National Champion Maryland 90-82 in a game the Huskies led late. Sophomore sensation Caron Bulter, an NBA lottery pick, scored 26 of his 32 points in the second half but it wasn’t enough. No one played the Terps as close as the Huskies did in the 2002 NCAA Tournament.
1999
Entering this game, UConn head coach Jim Calhoun was tabbed as “The Greatest Coach Never to Make a Final Four.” That all changed when UConn beat Gonzaga 67-62 for a thrilling victory behind 21 points from junior AP First-Team All-American guard Richard Hamilton, who became an NBA star and champion. UConn finally got over the hurdle, and a week later, the program won its first National Championship.
1998
One year before the championship, heartache continued for Huskies fans. A game after Hamilton’s famous buzzer beater against Washington, UConn ran out of gas and lost to UNC 75-64 in Greensboro, N.C., less than an hour away from UNC’s Chapel Hill campus.
1995
Despite eventual Basketball Hall of Famer Ray Allen’s 36 points, UConn could not defeat the high-powered offense of UCLA on this day and lost 102-96 in Oakland, Calif. UCLA would go on to win its 11th National Championship, a record that still stands to this day.
1990
One game after Tate George’s miraculous game-winner at the buzzer, the “Dream Season” that put UConn basketball on the map ended like a nightmare. Before he beat Kentucky the same way two years later, Duke star Christian Laettner hit a buzzer beater to defeat UConn 79-78. Many tears were likely shed by Husky fans who were alive to witness this game.
1964
Long before Jim Calhoun, the Huskies were the NCAA Tournament’s darling. A game after defeating Princeton, led by future Hall of Famer and U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley, in an all-time upset, UConn faced off against Duke and were run out of the gym 101-54.
Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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