UConn’s Historic Run: How the Huskies Stack Up Against Champions of the Past Quarter-Century

After defeating Purdue in Monday’s NCAA Tournament championship game, UConn has just won its second consecutive national championship, capping off a stellar season. It is now appropriate to inquire: How do these Huskies stack up against the finest teams that have won championships over the previous 25 years? We asked three of our journalists covering college basketball about their thoughts:

CJ Moore

Let us look to the computers to assess Connecticut’s superiority. Connecticut’s adjusted efficiency margin of 36.43 is 5.26 points greater than that of second-ranked Houston, according to KenPom.com, where these figures are calculated. Only one team has finished that much ahead of second in KenPom history, which goes back to 1996–1997. That team, 1999 Duke, lost to Connecticut in the national title game to conclude their historic season, which initiated this run of six titles in 26 seasons.

Source: KenPom.com

The Huskies, who went 37-3 and only lost once all season (against Creighton) while they were fully healthy, have just set a record for the greatest win margin in the NCAA Tournament. When Donovan Clingan eventually made his way back into the starting lineup following his foot injury recovery, that is when the Huskies truly came together. That was on January 28. Using Bart Torvik’s sorting technology, Connecticut’s adjusted efficiency margin went on to be 43.01 after that. That would have been second only to 1999 Duke, with an efficiency margin of 43.01, if that had been the total for the entire season. Nobody other has ever exceeded 40 years old. This group was historically awesome, according to the math.

So, too, do our eyes.

Due to unusual circumstances, Dan Hurley was able to assemble the ideal modern team. The top collegiate teams are skilled and seasoned. The Huskies had five starters who will probably play in the NBA, two expected lottery picks in Clingan and Stephon Castle, and a remarkably elderly roster. Under typical conditions, starting guards Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer would have run out of eligibility; however, the NCAA’s COVID-19 year allowed them to play one more season. Clingan, a 7-foot-2 monster who guarded the rim and moved well enough to explode on pick-and-rolls, was the ideal defensive center for the Huskies and was a major factor in Monday night’s victory. The Huskies also had terrific positional size, with all five starters taller than 6-4. UConn’s length not only helped make it tough to get shots off at the rim, it made it difficult even to complete passes in the paint.

Hurley also put three excellent shooters on the ground and a fourth competent shooter in Castle, who was a prolific cutter and slasher. With elaborate sets that reflected a European flavor, the offense was a work of beauty. The Huskies were also superb in transition, which allowed them to play at either a slow or fast pace and eventually land enough jabs to send opponents sprawling to the ground. The bench was equally impressive, with an extremely skilled backup center named Samson Johnson who could outplay anyone in college basketball when he rolled to the hoop for alley-oop dunks, as well as a backup guard named Hassan Diarra who would constantly bother point guards when they had the ball.

This was truly a team without any holes and one that should go down as one of the best in the modern era.

Kyle Tucker

That 2001 Duke club, the 2012 Kentucky team that was undefeated, and the Florida teams that won back-to-back in 2006 and 2007 should all be mentioned. However, if you want to just crush it to win a national championship, here is the rivalry from the 2000s:

• Baylor (28-2) defeated Gonzaga (30-0) by 16 points to win the title in 2021 after winning six tournament games with an average margin of 15.3 points, the closest being nine. Yes, it was the COVID-bubble tournament, but when the tournament was discontinued the year before, the Bears had won 23 straight games and were ranked third in KenPom. This was not an anomaly; the entire bunch came back and took home the victory.

• In 2018, Villanova (36-4) won 22 of its first 23 games and then each of its final 11 games, including six in the NCAA Tournament by an average of 16 points. The closest margin was 12 points. The Wildcats pounded Kansas by 16 and Michigan by 17 in the Final Four.

• After returning national player of the year Tyler Hansbrough and nearly all of its teammates from a Final Four team that finished with three losses in 2008, North Carolina (34-4) swept the bracket in 2009 like a squad on a mission. They defeated Michigan State 17 points to 1 in the championship game and won six games by an average of 20.2 points, including one victory of 12 points.

Until UConn these last two seasons, that was the gold standard for smoking the field. I think it’s entirely reasonable to call these Huskies the most dominant tournament team of the 21st century.

Brendan Marks

As CJ stated, this UConn team is without a doubt one of the most dominant championship teams ever, at least since 2000, from an analytical standpoint. The statistic that I find inexplicable? How these Huskies won their six NCAA Tournament games by an average of 23.3 (!!) points per game, posting the greatest playoff points differential in history. It is just hard to comprehend, particularly in a time when skill and expertise ought to be as abundant as ever, at least conceptually.

Purdue was KenPom’s No. 2 team, with a 7-foot-4, two-time National Player of the Year in Zach Edey… and it basically did not matter. The Athletic’s team in Phoenix joked after Saturday night’s games that Purdue making the title game was like someone climbing to the top of a podium … only to immediately dive headfirst into a woodchipper — and that’s exactly what played out. Just ridiculous stuff.

That being said, I do not want to let the past color my decisions or make me a prisoner of the past. I also understand that, in the last 25 years, college basketball has undergone a lot of change; from the widespread use of advanced statistics to the increasing use of spacing-oriented systems, to the fact that the sport is more popular than ever (especially with the additional year of COVID eligibility). Trying to judge teams from twenty years ago through the lens of the present is always going to be a bit of a folly.

However, five teams instantly spring to mind when I consider the other “greatest” championship teams throughout that time: 2001 Duke, 2008 Kansas, 2009 North Carolina, 2012 Kentucky, and 2018 Villanova. Which of the teams may compete with UConn in 2024? I would say maybe, but not for sure, which illustrates how well-rounded Dan Hurley’s roster was. In 2001, Duke produced five NBA players, including Shane Battier and Jay Williams in their peak. This season, I feel confident in stating that UConn was undoubtedly deeper, if perhaps less top-heavy. Again, even if I am not sure these Huskies are unquestionably superior to some of those other all-time greats, the fact that they even rank among that elite group speaks much about how excellent Hurley’s second title team was. A “maybe” is the ultimate gesture of deference.

In any case, we will be discussing UConn’s season-long accomplishments for a very long time.

(Photo of Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)