By Zach Waltz
Sports Assignment Editor
I think it’s safe to say that nobody predicted that both the University of Connecticut’s men’s and women’s basketball teams would win their respective national championships, except maybe a percentage of the people who live in Connecticut.
This is not the first time both Huskies’ basketball teams won the national championship, however. Both teams won their respective titles in 2004. UConn is the only school in history to have both teams win the title in the same year, and now, they’ve done that twice.
The women’s team winning the championship may not come as that big of a surprise, as they have won four national titles since 2009.
The UConn women’s basketball team is on a staggering 45-game winning streak, its last loss coming in last year’s Big East tournament to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
This is the fifth time the women’s team has finished a perfect season with a national championship. Coach Geno Auriemma earned his record ninth national title, passing coaching legend Pat Summitt who coached for Tennessee.
They faced the same Notre Dame team, minus point guard Skylar Diggins who left for the WNBA, in the championship this year. Notre Dame faced adversity as it lost its best player and starting senior forward Natalie Achonwa to a torn ligament in her left knee in the Elite Eight game against Baylor.
What made this year’s national title so historic is that it was the first time that two undefeated teams faced each other for the national championship in either men’s or women’s basketball.
The Huskies, led by junior forward Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, senior guard Bria Hartley, senior center Stefanie Dolson and sophomore forward Breanna Stewart, won 79-58.
While the women’s team taking the title did not come as a surprise to most people familiar with college basketball, those same people were probably thoroughly shocked by the men’s run to the championship.
The men’s team came into the NCAA tournament with a 24-7 regular season record and a fresh loss to Louisville in the American Athletic Conference Championship, earning them a seven seed.
While nobody doubted the talent on the Huskies, it seemed there was no possible way they would emerge from their division, let alone make it to the championship.
What everyone failed to account for was senior point guard Shabazz Napier’s drive and determination to lead the team to his second national championship. Napier did so much, in fact, that he became a household name and his NBA draft stock is going through the roof.
Napier, junior guard Ryan Boatright and junior forward DeAndre Daniels led a ferocious UConn team through the East bracket, defeating 10 Saint Joseph’s, 2 Villanova, 3 -seed Iowa State and 4-seed Michigan State to make it to the Final Four.
After defeating 1-seed Florida, the hands-down favorite of the tournament, the Huskies moved on to face the 8-seed Kentucky Wildcats in what was one of the most surprising championships in recent history.
The championship game was extremely entertaining to watch as UConn and Kentucky battled to the end with the Huskies winning their first national championship since 2011.
That team, led by point guard Kemba Walker, also featured Napier as the back-up point guard. It was senior forward Niels Giffey and Napier’s experience on that team that gave this year’s team the boost it needed to go all the way.
By both UConn teams winning their national championships this year, sports fans were treated to a display of history. On one hand, the UConn women’s team is as close to a dynasty as you can get in the world of college sports.
With players graduating and new players coming into the system, it’s hard to continue to play at a high level for many years in a row. Auriemma has found a system to give his team a chance at the title year in and year out.
On the other hand, the men’s championship game was the highest combination of two championship teams’ seeds in history, with UConn being a seven seed and Kentucky being an eight seed. Usually, we have one Cinderella team every year, but this year featured two underdog teams scrapping their way towards a title.
The Huskies took the long way to the championship, and in the end, their determination drove them to a well-deserved title.
Zach Waltz is the sports assignment editor for The Bona Venture. His email is waltzzd12@bonaventure.edu
