UConn had not won an NCAA Tournament game in seven years. Dan Hurley hadn’t reached the second week of the tournament in his first 12 years as a Division I head coach. The Huskies, unranked in the preseason, lost six of eight games as January came to a close.
Now, UConn is atop college basketball again.
Despite enduring the toughest fight of a sweat-free tournament run, No. 4 UConn claimed the fifth national championship in school history — and first since 2014 — with a 76-59 win over No. 5 San Diego State on Monday night in Houston.
More than three decades after his older brother, Bobby, became a star on back-to-back national title teams at Duke, Hurley couldn’t be certain he would cut down a net when a 16-point lead was sliced to five, but the Huskies defense held the Aztecs to four points in the final 5:18.
Hurley’s son, Andrew, dribbled out the final seconds and slammed the ball to the court before confetti filled the floor.
UConn — which never has lost a national title game — is now one of six schools with at least five national championships. And next year, the Huskies will have the talent to do it again.
Here’s a look at UConn’s repeat hopes and the other top storylines heading into next season:
Title defense
Only two teams have won the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years since UCLA won seven straight titles (1967-73). No defending champion has reached the Sweet 16 in seven years. No defending champion has reached the Final Four since Florida won its second straight championship in 2007.
Next year, UConn could make history again.
Following one of the most dominant runs in NCAA Tournament history, the Huskies are far better positioned to run it back than they were after their previous titles, fueled by the one-man shows of Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier, respectively.
Jordan Hawkins could be lost as a potential first-round NBA draft pick, but Adama Sanogo and Andre Jackson could return to boost their stocks, playing alongside Alex Karaban, Donovan Clingan and a top-five recruiting class, headlined by combo guard Stephon Castle. Hurley will enjoy his first championship for about a week before focusing on another.
The new normal
This year’s tournament ranks among the most astonishing of all time.
A 16-seed stunned a 1-seed for the second time. A 15-seed reached the Sweet 16 for a third straight year. For the first time in history, no No. 1 seeds reached the Elite Eight. No top-three seed reached the Final Four.
It won’t be as chaotic every season, but the consistent lack of dominant high seeds in this era — combined with the transfer portal and NIL money spreading talent around — has made it easier than ever for brackets to be busted.
NCAA Tournament expansion
It is inevitable. It doesn’t matter if it is unpopular, like stadium-naming rights or sponsored uniform patches. There is money to be made, so the NCAA will get paid.
It is miraculous the greatest postseason in sports barely has been altered since the 64-team format was introduced in 1985, but earlier this year, an NCAA committee announced its recommendation to expand the current 68-team field. This weekend, new NCAA president Charlie Baker said discussions will resume this offseason regarding if — or most likely when — such a change could be implemented.
Rick Pitino’s return
New York City was long the center of college basketball. Now, it finally holds national relevance again.
Rick Pitino’s return to New York gives St. John’s instant credibility and legitimate hope, signaling the end of the program’s 23-year drought without an NCAA Tournament win will be over soon.
Pitino, 70, has elevated every team he’s ever led, and the only coach to lead multiple programs to a national championship instantly will build a Big East contender via the transfer portal and his unmatched player development skills.
Bronny James
The eldest son of the world’s most famous basketball player is the highest-rated recruit — 28th on ESPN — yet to decide where he’ll play this fall.
James, who has until May 17 to decide if and where he’ll play college ball, reportedly has narrowed his final list to USC, Oregon and Ohio State.
Should he stay near his current home in Los Angeles and sign with the Trojans, USC would become must-watch TV with James joining top-five recruit Isaiah Collier.
Will Goliath get back up?
Jon Scheyer will have another loaded class at Duke in Year 2. John Calipari has secured commitments from four of the class’ top 11 recruits. North Carolina’s Armando Bacot and RJ Davis will be back to try to make amends after missing the NCAA Tournament after being the nation’s No. 1 team in the preseason.
But no program has more at stake than Purdue, which will be returning 7-foot-4 National Player of the Year Zach Edey, and is still searching for its first Final Four berth since 1980, following a loss to 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson this year and a season-ending defeat to 15-seed Saint Peter’s the year prior.
Virginia was the first 1-seed to lose its first round game in 2018. In 2019, the Cavaliers used their pain to fuel their first national championship.
???? Join the Inside St. John’s text-message conversation to keep up with all the behind-the-scenes buzz around Rick Pitino’s Red Storm and to get your Johnnies questions answered by reporter Zach Braziller.
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We hope every NBA fan enjoyed the annual national championship PTO day, because the regular season’s final six days will bring season-shifting moments each night.
Let’s take a look at the six biggest issues still to be sorted out.
Rest or reps
Unlike many teams, the Knicks’ playoff plans are set — they’ll be the No. 5 seed barring a complicated reversal with the No. 6 Nets or somehow making up three games on the No. 4 Cavaliers (unlikely considering Cleveland ends its season at home against the tanking Hornets).
Tom Thibodeau will have a tough choice: Rest the regulars he’ll need to navigate past the Cavs, or lean into what got the Knicks here and pile up the 35-minutes nights all the way through Sunday. If the Cavaliers stumble and homecourt is an option, by all means, play the guys. But once the seeding is set, it might be time to get Jalen Brunson and a few others off their feet.
Rise of the Lakers
It was easy to write off the Lakers thanks to their poorly constructed roster, age and injuries, But the front office did just enough to tweak the lineup at the trade deadline, the Western Conference was just weak enough to keep the standings close and LeBron James was desperate enough to trust in the LeBron James of feet over surgery to put the Lakers in Play-In position — and within reach of an actual playoff spot.
Currently in seventh place (tied in the loss column with the Clippers, Warriors and ), they close with a “road” back-to-back against the Jazz and Clippers, followed by home games with the Suns and Jazz.
The Mavericks’ mess
Dallas is 9-16 since acquiring Kyrie Irving and 4-11 when Irving and Luka Doncic both play. That’s left the Mavs one game out of the Western Conference Play-In and flirting with either keeping their first-round pick (because they’re so bad, the pick is in the top 10) — or having to send it to the Knicks.
If that wouldn’t be bad enough, they also face a summer in which they either have to pay Irving the max or near-max deal he wanted from the Mavericks or watch him leave for nothing but cap space in a shallow free-agent year.
The best thing they could probably do at this point is shut down Irving and Doncic and up their chances of getting a draft pick they can keep. But that’s still lipstick on a pig of a season.
The Eastern Conference Play-In fight
The Nets are on the verge of nailing down a top-six spot, which would leave the Heat as the team no one wants to face — in the Play-In bracket or in the first round of the playoffs: Erik Spoelstra’s coaching. Jimmy Butler’s late-season superstardom. In-your-face defense. A nightlife scene that isn’t exactly conducive to focusing on work.
Then there’s the Hawks, Raptors and Bulls. Only one of them will get the valuable No. 8 seed, which requires one win out of two games, the second of which would be at home. None of the three have easy closing slates if you go by strength of schedules, but all of them may be playing teams resting starters down the stretch. Any win is a good win, even if it happens with Joel Embiid on the bench or Jayson Tatum watching with his kid sitting next to him.
The Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes
Seeding ramifications will be the top storyline of the week, but let’s not lose sight of the race for perhaps the bigger long-term prize: Victor Wembanyama.
Though the Pistons, Rockets, Spurs and Hornets have secured the four best odds, the battle for the fifth-best odds and a 10.5 percent chance of winning the draft lottery (and a guy who can do this) is still alive. The Trail Blazers, Pacers, Magic and Wizards are within a game of each other in the loss column with the Mavericks not out of the picture (especially since we can make a good argument they may not win another game this season). Tank commanders, mount up.
The battle for MVP
What appeared to be a two-way duel between Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid may have become a three-way race after Giannis Antetokounmpo reminded the 76ers and the NBA he is the league’s best player with a tour de force statement win on Sunday.
With all three pretty much locked into the playoff seeds, however, none of them may have too many chances to sway voters with rest and health the priority at this time of year. So it’s time to dig into the stats and the narratives, but just ask yourself: If you had one game to win, which of the three would you trust most?
— Paul Forrester
What comes after the Caitlin Clark College Invitational, oh wait no, the women’s NCAA Tournament — in which the Iowa guard obliterated scoring records with a fusillade of deep 3s, reached the Final Four, became a buzzword on the lips of sports fans across America, taunted, got taunted and settled for runner-up to LSU?
The way Clark helped capture record-setting audiences (9.9 million viewers!) during this March Madness was either a watershed moment for the sport (did someone say “Larry Bird” and “1979,” with all due reverence?) or part of a rising tide that continues lifting all boats in women’s basketball (and women’s sports more broadly — hello, World Cup year).
But there is little disputing Clark’s star and the popularity of her sport are ascendant. Here are a few milestones to watch for on the horizon, from college to the WNBA:
WNBA Draft (April 10): Yes, players go from the end of their seasons to the draft in a matter of weeks — that’s part of the fun. South Carolina cornerstone center Aliyah Boston is expected to go No. 1 to the Indiana Fever.
The rest of our projected top five: 2. Minnesota Lynx — Diamond Miller, Maryland; 3. Dallas Wings — Jordan Horston, Tennessee; 4. Washington Mystics — Maddy Siegrist, Villanova; 5. Dallas Wings — Haley Jones, Stanford.
WNBA season (begins May 19): No shortage of storylines here. The New York Liberty went all “transfer portal” and formed a superteam around the best player in the world, Breanna Stewart.
They’ll try to take down the Tom-Brady-part-owned Las Vegas Aces, who might repeat as champs with Candace Parker aboard or might be swallowed up by a salary-cap-circumvention scandal (or both! or neither!).
And what can we expect on the court from Brittney Griner, who returns to the Phoenix Mercury after spending much of last year in Russian captivity?
Next college season: If a fraction of the hype of the past two weeks carries over to the fall, this will be the most-followed regular season in a generation. The spotlight starts on Clark, trying to win a title at Iowa (minus two graduating starters) while defending player of the year honors.
Angel Reese will be back on the Bayou with one ring in hand (can we book an LSU-Iowa grudge match, please?).
Don’t forget the dozing giant at UConn, a deserving No. 1 in ESPN’s very early top 25 with phenom Paige Bueckers due back from injury.
2024 WNBA Draft: A class of historic, NBA-circa-2003 proportions, starting with a lottery of Clark, Reese, Bueckers and Stanford forward Cameron Brink, in some order.
They’re just the start of a crop of talented rising seniors, plus this draft will have the 2023 seniors who opted into a fifth year of eligibility (mind you, some of the 2024 prospects might roll over to 2025). The influx of star power could alter the WNBA.
TV talks: Congrats on the boffo tournament ratings, ESPN, now prepare for the price tag to soar — either as part of a package of NCAA championships (as on the current TV deal, which expires in 2024) or on a spinoff women’s basketball deal.
The WNBA’s current deal with ESPN runs through 2025, and the league will be looking to expand its reach, perhaps coinciding with the arrival of a few desperately needed expansion teams.
— Jonathan Lehman