Every year in March, we’re always talking about the same teams regarding the NCAA Tournament.
It’s Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky and the like. All the schools everyone loves to call the “bluebloods” of college basketball. Each of them has a rich, storied history in the sport, so it’s reasonable for people to hold them in reverence.
But when you look at the numbers, it’s hard to figure out why newly minted national champion UConn is never included in so many conversations.
The March Madness champion will (almost definitely!) be one of these 8 NCAA men’s teams
With Monday night’s championship win, UConn’s men’s basketball team has truly begun to run laps around everyone’s favorite schools. The school has won five championships in the last 25 years.
The school stands alone in that.
UConn has been a powerhouse over the past 25 season 🏆 pic.twitter.com/II0p37z9xb
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) April 4, 2023
Three of those titles came within the last 12 years, including the 2011 Kemba Walker run.
It’s also worth noting that the school has managed to do this under the leadership of 3 different coaches during this run. Jim Calhoun, Kevin Ollie and, now, Dan Hurley.
The UConn's men's team has won a national championship under three successive head coaches 🤯
◽️ Jim Calhoun
◽️ Kevin Ollie
◽️ Dan Hurley pic.twitter.com/n0mtnbrdfB— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) April 4, 2023
That’s some pretty incredible stuff. Let’s be honest — it’s probably much better than what your favorite school has done in the same time.
If you didn’t consider UConn a blueblood of college basketball before, you absolutely have to now. It’s impossible to deny the program’s success — especially when you stack it up against the schools that we consider the creme of the crop in college basketball now.
UConn is not only among the best, but it’s better than the best. Next time, if we treat them like it, we might not be so surprised if the school makes another title run.
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