In the modern, money-driven era of college athletics, building a powerhouse in any sport is a monumental task. That’s especially true if your national championship is decided by a 68-team single-elimination knockout round, which is designed for chaos.
But over the past thirty years, two teams from the middle of nowhere have managed to build themselves into dominant players in the sport, placing their names alongside the likes of the UCLAs, North Carolina and Kentucky of the college basketball world.
The two faced off at Madison Square Garden at the end of their non-conference schedule – hoping to continue to strengthen their resumes against the best of the best.
On one side is the University of Connecticut, a public school in the farming town of Storrs with an indomitable appetite for the sport. The other, Gonzaga University, a private Catholic school in eastern Washington state that went from Cinderellas to perennial candidates.
Tonight in the world’s most famous arena, 18th-ranked UConn shocked No. 8 Gonzaga 77-71 and redeemed itself from a painful November with three straight major wins.
Connecticut’s Liam McNeeley celebrates after hitting a triple against Gonzaga on Saturday
Khalif Battle of Gonzaga celebrates after knocking down a 3-pointer against UConn
Both schools rose to national prominence around the same time – albeit with different moments in the sun.
UConn benefited from their participation in the Big East Conference since 1979. Although they were small fish in a big pond at the conference’s inception — far less rich in basketball tradition than that of the likes of Syracuse, Georgetown and St. John’s — they used their joining the conference to attract larger recruits.
Under coach Jim Calhoun, the school really began to establish its identity in the mid-1990s – especially with the play of guard Ray Allen, who would later become a Hall of Famer. While Allen left college uncrowned, the Huskies won their first title just a few years after his departure in 1999.
From there, the Huskies have only grown, winning six national titles in 25 years, more than any other program during the same period. Three of those came under Calhoun, one under Kevin Ollie, and back-to-back reigns under Dan Hurley.
Across the country, in the city of Spokane, the Gonzaga Bulldogs initially captured the nation’s attention as plucky underdogs.
Gonzaga is considered a “mid-major” – a classification given to a program that is successful but does not come from one of the five power conferences (the ACC, Big Ten, Big XII, SEC and Big East). Instead, the Bulldogs clinched their spot as apparent annual champions of the West Coast Conference.
The same year Connecticut won its first title, Gonzaga reached the Elite Eight and defeated power conference schools Minnesota, Stanford and Florida before ultimately falling to UConn.
But the coach who led them there, Dan Monson, left for the same Minnesota team he beat after that Elite Eight run. In his place came an assistant coach, Mark Few, who has been at the helm ever since.
Dan Hurley is the latest coach in a line of UConn leaders to be crowned champions
Gonzaga’s Mark Few has been at the helm for 26 years and has almost single-handedly built the program from a mid-major to one of the most dominant college teams in this millennium
Ray Allen for UConn (L) and Adam Morrison for Gonzaga (R) have boosted their programs
Like the Huskies with Allen, one of many NBA stars heading to Storrs, Gonzaga had many great players on the court at the McCarthey Athletic Center: from John Stockton to Adam Morrison to today’s NBA stars like Domantas Sabonis, Jalen Suggs and Chet Holmgren.
The only thing separating the Huskies and the Bulldogs is success on the biggest stage. Gonzaga has reached the national championship game twice, losing to North Carolina in 2017 and Baylor in 2021.
Either way, they’ve done a lot of things the Huskies haven’t done to show their dominance in the sport.
They have made March Madness every year since 1999 and have finished in the AP Poll every season since 2008-09. To use a modern expression, Gonzaga is the least “middle” of the mid-majors.
But when the Huskies and Bulldogs have met, the favor lies with Connecticut. That includes their last two meetings: an Elite Eight domination en route to the 2023 title and last season in Seattle, when the all-time greatest UConn team won by 13 in a hostile environment.
Few and Hurley talk on the court at Madison Square Garden before the game starts
This time the crowd was overwhelmingly in Connecticut’s favor. After all, the Huskies faithful have nicknamed MSG “Storrs South.”
Riding a wave of fan momentum, the Huskies built an 11-2 lead right out of the gate as an eternal energy filled the building. After a timeout, the Bulldogs started to bite back, erasing the deficit and leading themselves. UConn led by three at the half.
Just like in the first half, Connecticut started strong. Hurley waved his arms to whip the mostly partisan crowd (for what was supposed to be a neutral court game) into a frenzy.
UConn’s freshman phenom Liam McNeeley led the Huskies in scoring to the ni13 points in the first half and continued his scoring ways in the second half – a long-distance triple put the Huskies ten points ahead just before the remaining ten minutes and had the crowd chanting : ‘UCONN, UConn, UConn, UConn.’
But try as they might, the Huskies simply couldn’t extend their lead beyond single digits. Khalif Battle, a transfer to his fourth school, kept Gonzaga in the game as the clock ticked under a minute.
A hard shot from Alex Karaban, the only returning starter from the 2024 title-winning team, extended the lead to five with less than a minute remaining. After Battle sank his first free throw, he missed a second and UConn hit two of its own to reach the final score.
After a rough end to November, the Huskies have defeated powerhouses Baylor, Texas and now Gonzaga. Those who doubted Connecticut did so at their own peril. Now a tough conference lies ahead.