Connecticut Huskies men's basketball

For the women's team, see Connecticut Huskies women's basketball.
Connecticut Huskies
2016–17 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team
University University of Connecticut
First season 1901 (1901)
All-time record 1664–921 (.644)
Conference The American
Location Storrs, CT
Head coach Kevin Ollie (4th year)
Arena Harry A. Gampel Pavilion 10,167
XL Center 16,294
Nickname Huskies
Colors National Flag Blue and White[1]
         
Uniforms
Home
Away
Alternate
NCAA Tournament champions
1999, 2004, 2011, 2014
NCAA Tournament Final Four
1999, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2014
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
1964, 1990, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen
1951, 1956, 1964, 1976, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996,1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014
NCAA Tournament Round of 32
1976, 1979, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2016
NCAA Tournament appearances
1951, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1976, 1979, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016
Conference tournament champions
1976, 1979, 1990, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2011, 2016
Conference regular season champions
1925, 1941, 1944, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1976, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006

The Connecticut Huskies men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball team of the University of Connecticut, in Storrs, Connecticut. They currently play in the American Athletic Conference (The American).

UConn is one of the most successful programs in college basketball. The Huskies have won 4 NCAA Tournament Championships (1999, 2004, 2011 and 2014), which puts the program at sixth-most all-time. The Huskies have also won seven Big East Tournament Championships and ten Big East regular season titles. Numerous players have gone on to achieve professional success after their time at UConn, including Cliff Robinson, Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Kemba Walker, Ben Gordon, Emeka Okafor, Caron Butler, Jeremy Lamb, Andre Drummond, Shabazz Napier, and Rudy Gay. The Huskies have participated in 5 NCAA Final Fours (tied for 13th all time) and appeared in the NCAA tournament 33 times. The team has been a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament 5 times, most recently in 2009.

History

Early history

Men's basketball at UConn began in 1901 with a single game played by Connecticut Agricultural College against Windham High School in January of that year. The college team won, and by 1903 basketball was a varsity sport.

Hugh Greer era

After graduating from the Connecticut Agricultural College, former player Hugh Greer returned to his alma mater as a freshman coach. He was later named head coach of the Huskies six games into the 1946–47 season. Greer led Connecticut to a perfect 12–0 mark for the remainder of his first season. Posting a record of 16–2, this was the best single season finish in school history to that point. UConn won twelve Yankee Conference titles under Greer in 16 completed seasons, including ten consecutive titles from 1951–60. Greer also led UConn to its first seven NCAA berths and one NIT appearance while compiling an overall head coaching record of 286–112. Greer died of a heart attack in 1963, ten games into the 1962–63 season. He was replaced by George Wigton who led them to the NCAA tournament. UConn men's basketball was a regional power under Greer, winning eighteen Yankee Conference championships between 1947 and 1975—when the Yankee Conference dropped support of basketball—including twelve by Greer.

Jim Calhoun era

Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Connecticut remained a regional power and earned multiple NCAA tournament berths. In 1979, UConn became one of the seven founding schools of the Big East Conference, which was created to focus on basketball.

Prior to the 1986–87 season UConn hired Northeastern head coach Jim Calhoun to take over the program. Calhoun's first team finished the season with a record of 9–19. In 1988, the team showed significant improvement and gained a berth in the National Invitation Tournament. UConn went on a run in the tournament and defeated Ohio State 72–67 at Madison Square Garden to win the NIT, the school's first national basketball title.

The 1990 "Dream Season" would bring UConn basketball back to the national stage. Led by Chris Smith, Nadav Henefeld, Scott Burrell, Tate George, and John Gwynn, UConn went from unranked in the preseason to winning the Big East Regular Season and Tournament Championships, both for the first time. 1990 also marked the opening of Gampel Pavilion, the program's new on-campus home. In the NCAA Tournament the Huskies garnered a #1 seed in the East Region, but trailed Clemson 70–69 with 1 second remaining in the Sweet 16. Burrell's full-court pass found Tate George on the far baseline. George spun, fired, and hit a buzzer-beater that is known in Connecticut simply as "The Shot". They would be eliminated on a buzzer-beater 2 days later by Duke, losing in overtime 79–78.:

Exterior view of Gampel Pavilion

UConn continued to rise as a national program throughout the 1990s, winning five more Big East Regular Season and three more Big East Tournament Championships, as well as reaching several regional finals. The Final Four still eluded Calhoun and the program until the 1999 NCAA Tournament. With Richard "Rip" Hamilton leading the way, they claimed the program's first national title that same year. Calhoun's teams would go on to win two more national championships during his tenure at UConn.

Calhoun was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005, and officially announced his retirement in September 2012.

After the breakup of the old Big East in 2013, UConn remained as a member of the American Athletic Conference, the legal successor to the original conference. It is therefore the only charter member of the original Big East still playing in that conference.

Kevin Ollie era

Kevin Ollie was hired as UConn's men's basketball coach shortly after Calhoun's retirement. During his first season, the Huskies record was 20–10. That year the Huskies were banned from postseason play by the NCAA because of a low APR score in 2010.[2] In Ollie's second season, the team made the NCAA tournament. On March 30, 2014, Ollie became the first UConn coach other than Jim Calhoun to lead the Huskies to a Final Four. They won the Men's NCAA tournament on April 7, 2014, defeating the University of Kentucky 60–54. His team was the first #7 seed to ever win the NCAA tournament. Ollie led Connecticut to another NCAA tournament appearance in 2015-16 but the Huskies were eliminated by the Kansas Jayhawks in the second round of the tournament.

National Championships

1999 NCAA Title

UConn won both the Big East and NCAA National Championships in 2011.

The Huskies were the top seed in the West region, and a win over Gonzaga in the regional final sent UConn to Tropicana Field for the program's first Final Four appearance. They defeated Ohio State 64–58 in the semi-final to face off against Duke in the final. Despite having been ranked #1 for half of the year, the Huskies entered the national championship game as 9-point underdogs.

UConn won their first national title with a 77–74 victory. Hamilton was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

1999 NCAA Tournament
Round Opponent Score
Round #1 #16 Texas-San Antonio 91–66
Round #2 #9 New Mexico 78–56
Sweet 16 #5 Iowa 78–68
Elite 8 #10 Gonzaga 67–62
Final Four #4 Ohio State 64–58
Championship #1 Duke 77–74

2004 NCAA Title

In 2004, the Huskies returned to the Final Four. Once again they faced Duke, this time in the National Semifinal, and used a late run to beat the Blue Devils 79–78. Two nights later, led by Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon, Connecticut won their second national title with an 82–73 victory over Georgia Tech. Okafor was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

One day later the UConn women's basketball team also won a national title, making UConn the first and only school in NCAA Division I history to have its men's and women's basketball programs win a national championship in the same season.

2004 NCAA Tournament
Round Opponent Score
Round #1 #15 Vermont 70–53
Round #2 #7 DePaul 72–55
Sweet 16 #6 Vanderbilt 73–53
Elite 8 #8 Alabama 87–71
Final Four #1 Duke 79–78
Championship #3 Georgia Tech 82–73

2011 NCAA Title

The 2011 Huskies won eleven straight games in postseason play, the final six of which resulted in the program's third national championship. On April 4, 2011, they defeated the Butler Bulldogs, 53–41. UConn junior Kemba Walker was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Many consider UConn's win in the Championship Game to be a great defensive performance, as the Huskies held Butler to only 18.8% shooting from the field (a record for field goal percentage defense in a championship game) and tied a title game record with ten blocked shots.[3] An analysis by Sports Illustrated columnist Luke Winn credited the Huskies' defense by demonstrating, for instance, that they blocked or altered a staggering 26.6% of Butler's shots – compared to just 3.8 percent by Pittsburgh and 12.1 percent by VCU in earlier rounds.[4] The 53 points scored by Connecticut was, in turn, the lowest point total by a winning team in a championship game since 1949.

2011 NCAA Tournament
Round Opponent Score
Round #2 #14 Bucknell 89–52
Round #3 #6 Cincinnati 69–58
Sweet 16 #2 San Diego State 74–67
Elite 8 #5 Arizona 65–63
Final Four #4 Kentucky 56–55
Championship #8 Butler 53–41

2014 NCAA Title

2014 UConn National Championship teams at the White House

In 2014 led by American Athletic Conference Player of the Year Shabazz Napier, UConn became the first #7 seed to win the NCAA Championship, getting past No. 1 seed Florida, No. 2 seed Villanova, No. 3 seed Iowa State, and No. 4 seed Michigan State, before defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 60–54 in the championship game in Arlington, Texas. UConn is undefeated in the state of Texas in the Final Four (6–0).

As in 2014, the UConn women's basketball team also won a national title, making UConn the first and only school in NCAA Division I history to have its men's and women's basketball programs win a national championship in the same season twice.

2014 NCAA Tournament
Round Opponent Score
Round #2 #10 Saint Joseph's 89–81 OT
Round #3 #2 Villanova 77–65
Sweet 16 #3 Iowa State 81–76
Elite 8 #4 Michigan State 60–54
Final Four #1 Florida 63–53
Championship #8 Kentucky 60–54

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Huskies have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 33 times. Their combined record is 59–30. They have been to five Final Fours and are four time National Champions (1999, 2004, 2011, 2014).

Year Seed Round Opponent Result
1951 Sweet Sixteen St. John's L 52–63
1954 First Round Navy L 80–85
1956 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Regional 3rd Place Game 		Manhattan
Temple
Dartmouth 		W 84–75
L 59–65
L 64–85
1957 First Round Syracuse L 76–82
1958 First Round Dartmouth L 64–75
1959 First Round Boston University L 58–60
1960 First Round NYU L 59–78
1963 First Round West Virginia L 71–77
1964 First Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight 		Temple
Princeton
Duke 		W 53–48
W 52–50
L 54–101
1965 First Round Saint Joseph's L 61–67
1967 First Round Boston College L 42–48
1976 First Round
Sweet Sixteen 		Hofstra
Rutgers 		W 80–79OT
L 79–93
1979 #5 Second Round #4 Syracuse L 81–89
1990 #1 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight 		#16 Boston University
#9 California
#5 Clemson
#3 Duke 		W 76–52
W 74–54
W 71–70
L 78–79OT
1991 #11 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen 		#6 LSU
#14 Xavier
#2 Duke 		W 79–62
W 66–50
L 67–81
1992 #9 First Round
Second Round 		#8 Nebraska
#1 Ohio State 		W 86–65
L 55–78
1994 #2 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen 		#15 Rider
#10 George Washington
#3 Florida 		W 64–46
W 75–63
L 60–69OT
1995 #2 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight 		#15 Chattanooga
#7 Cincinnati
#3 Maryland
#1 UCLA 		W 100–71
W 96–91
W 99–89
L 96–102
1996 #1 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen 		#16 Colgate
#9 Eastern Michigan
#5 Mississippi State 		W 68–59
W 95–81
L 55–60
1998 #2 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight 		#15 Fairleigh Dickinson
#7 Indiana
#11 Washington
#1 North Carolina 		W 93–85
W 78–68
W 75–74
L 64–75
1999 #1 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Championship 		#16 UTSA
#9 New Mexico
#5 Iowa
#10 Gonzaga
#4 Ohio State
#1 Duke 		W 91–66
W 78–56
W 78–68
W 67–62
W 64–58
W 77–74
2000 #5 First Round
Second Round 		#12 Utah State
#4 Tennessee 		W 75–67
L 51–65
2002 #2 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight 		#15 Hampton
#7 NC State
#11 Southern Illinois
#1 Maryland 		W 78–67
W 77–74
W 71–59
L 82–90
2003 #5 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen 		#12 BYU
#4 Stanford
#1 Texas 		W 58–53
W 85–74
L 78–82
2004 #2 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Championship 		#15 Vermont
#7 DePaul
#6 Vanderbilt
#8 Alabama
#1 Duke
#3 Georgia Tech 		W 70–53
W 72–55
W 73–53
W 87–71
W 79–78
W 82–73
2005 #2 First Round
Second Round 		#15 UCF
#10 NC State 		W 77–71
L 62–65
2006 #1 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight 		#16 Albany
#8 Kentucky
#5 Washington
#11 George Mason 		W 72–59
W 87–83
W 98–92OT
L 84–86OT
2008 #4 First Round #13 San Diego L 69–70OT
2009 #1 First Round
Second Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four 		#16 Chattanooga
#9 Texas A&M
#5 Purdue
#3 Missouri
#2 Michigan State 		W 103–47
W 92–66
W 72–60
W 82–75
L 73–82
2011 #3 Second Round
Third Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Championship 		#14 Bucknell
#6 Cincinnati
#2 San Diego State
#5 Arizona
#3 Kentucky
#8 Butler 		W 81–52
W 69–58
W 74–67
W 65–63
W 56–55
W 53–41
2012 #9 Second Round #8 Iowa State L 64–77
2014 #7 Second Round
Third Round
Sweet Sixteen
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Championship 		#10 Saint Joseph's
#2 Villanova
#3 Iowa State
#4 Michigan State
#1 Florida
#8 Kentucky 		W 89–81OT
W 77–65
W 81–76
W 60–54
W 63–53
W 60–54
2016 #9 First Round
Second Round 		#8 Colorado
#1 Kansas 		W 74–67
L 61–73

NCAA Tournament seeding history

The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition.

Year → '79 '90 '91 '92 '94 '95 '96 '98 '99 '00 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '08 '09 '11 '12 '14 '16
Seed → 5111922121525221413979

NIT results

The Huskies have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 13 times. Their combined record is 15–12. They were NIT champions in 1988.

Year Round Opponent Result
1955 First Round Saint Louis L 103–110
1974 First Round
Quarterfinals 		St. John's
Boston College 		W 82–70
L 75–76
1975 First Round South Carolina L 61–71
1980 First Round Saint Peter's L 56–71
1981 First Round
Second Round 		South Florida
Minnesota 		W 66–55
L 66–84
1982 First Round Dayton L 75–76
1988 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfials
Semifinals
Finals 		West Virginia
Louisiana Tech
VCU
Boston College
Ohio State 		W 62–57
W 65–59
W 69–60
W 73–67
W 72–67
1989 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals 		Charlotte
California
UAB 		W 67–62
W 73–72
L 79–85
1993 First Round Jackson State L 88–90
1997 First Round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
3rd Place Game 		Iona
Bradley
Nebraska
Florida State
Arkansas 		W 71–66
W 63–47
W 76–67
L 65–71
W 74–64
2001 First Round
Second Round 		South Carolina
Detroit 		W 72–65
L 61–67
2010 First Round
Second Round 		Northeastern
Virginia Tech 		W 59–57
L 63–65
2015 First Round Arizona State L 61–68

Coaches

The following is a list of Connecticut Huskies men's basketball head coaches. The Connecticut Huskies have had 18 coaches in their 116-season history. [5] The team is currently coached by Kevin Ollie.

Tenure Coach Years Record Pct.
1900–15 No Coach 15 45–44 .506
1915–19 John F. Donahue 4 11–23 .324
1919–21 M.R. Swartz 2 14–14 .500
1921–22 J. Wilder Tasker 2 15–5 .750
1922–23 Roy J. Guyer 1 8–6 .571
1923–27 Sumner A. Dole 4 39–25 .609
1927–31 Louis A. Alexander 4 35–19 .648
1931–36 John J. Heldman, Jr. 5 19–42 .311
1935–36 J. Orlean Christian 1 3–10 .231
1936–45 Don White 9 94–59 .614
1945–46 Blair Gullion 2 14–7 .667
1946–63 Hugh Greer 17 287–113 .718
1963 George Wigton 1 11–4 .733
1963–67 Fred A. Shabel 4 72–29 .713
1967–69 Burr Carlson 2 16–32 .333
1969–77 Donald "Dee" Rowe 8 120–88 .577
1977–86 Dominic "Dom" Perno 9 139–114 .549
1986–2012 Jim Calhoun 26 625–243 .720
2012–present* Kevin Ollie 4 97–44 .688
Totals 18 coaches 116 seasons* 1664-921 .644
An asterisk (*) denotes a season currently in progress.

Huskies of Honor

Main article: Huskies of Honor

On December 26, 2006, UConn announced the inaugural inductees into the "Huskies of Honor" recognition program. The class comprised 13 players and 3 coaches. The "Huskies of Honor" class was officially unveiled at a halftime ceremony during a game between UConn and Syracuse on February 5, 2007.[6] Former athletic director John Toner was inducted on February 28, 2009.[7] On April 5, 2011, Kemba Walker was the first men's basketball player to be added to the Huskies of Honor since the inaugural inductees after leading the team to a national championship.

The Huskies of Honor are each recognized by a four by five foot panel which displays his name, jersey number and years of service, and a plaque which summarizes each's career accomplishments.[6] Both the panels and the plaques are on permanent display at Gampel Pavilion on the University of Connecticut campus in Storrs, CT.

Players

Coaches and administrators

Teams

Notable victories

Awards

AP National Coach of the Year

NABC National Player of the Year

Consensus First Team All-Americans

National Defensive Player of the Year

Pete Newell Big Man Award

Bob Cousy Award

Big East Player of the Year

AAC Player of the Year

Big East Defensive Player of the Year

Big East Tournament MVP

Big East Coach of the Year

Big East Rookie of the Year

NCAA Tournament MOP

AAC Rookie of the Year

  • Daniel Hamilton – 2015

Impact on the NBA

Since the 1990s, UConn has been recognized as being a consistent pipeline for players to enter the National Basketball Association. During the 2006–2007 season, there were an NBA-high 14 former Huskies on active rosters. During the 2013–14 Season, 13 former Huskies were on active NBA rosters.

UConn has had 13 players selected as lottery picks in the NBA Draft:

UConn Lottery Picks
Player Year Pick # Team
Donyell Marshall 1994 4 Minnesota Timberwolves
Ray Allen 1996 5 Minnesota Timberwolves
Richard Hamilton 1999 7 Washington Wizards
Caron Butler 2002 10 Miami Heat
Emeka Okafor 2004 2 Charlotte Bobcats
Ben Gordon 2004 3 Chicago Bulls
Charlie Villanueva 2005 7 Toronto Raptors
Rudy Gay 2006 8 Houston Rockets
Hilton Armstrong 2006 12 New Orleans Hornets
Hasheem Thabeet 2009 2 Memphis Grizzlies
Kemba Walker 2011 9 Charlotte Bobcats
Andre Drummond 2012 9 Detroit Pistons
Jeremy Lamb 2012 12 Houston Rockets

NBA Players Past and Present

References

  1. ↑ "Brand identity Standards" (PDF). University of Connecticut. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  2. ↑ "NCAA defends Connecticut ban", ESPN, April 20, 2012. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Connecticut wins third national title thanks to Butler's woeful shooting". Retrieved April 5, 2011.
  4. ↑ Winn, Luke (April 13, 2011). "The last word on defense: A comprehensive title-game study". CNN.
  5. ↑ http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/conn/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2011-12/misc_non_event/historicalsupplement.pdf
  6. 1 2 Men's Basketball Huskies of Honor Announced UConnHuskies.com. Retrieved on 2009-03-29
  7. ↑ John Toner Inducted into Huskies of Honor UConnHuskies.com. Retrieved on 2009-03-29
  8. ↑ "UConn ties draft record with four first-round picks". espn.com. 2006-06-29. Retrieved 2009-03-21.

External links

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