A Jersey Guy: UConn had best tournament run--ever

The Huskies national championship march in 2011 was one for the ages

The University of Connecticut's March Madness journey will begin on Thursday night when the No 5 seeded Huskies tangle with No. 12 seeded New Mexico State in an NCAA West Regional game in Buffalo

How far Coach Danny 'Hurley's Huskies get is questionable since No. 1 seed  Gonzaga looms as a probable second weekend opponent in San Francisco, which presumes UConn makes it out of Buffalo.

But UConn, in a sense, has history on its side. 

Hurley can talk about a UConn team which had a similar daunting task 11 years ago and how it fought against all odds and obstacles and won--a national championship.

It is indeed a tale worth telling again, because with only the hint of protest from long time NCAA tournament observers, the Huskies run in 2012 has to be on the leader board as the greatest run in NCAA tournament history.

That it ended with what everyone agreed was a lackluster 53-41 win over an unheralded Butler team for the national championship doesn't diminish the accomplishment at all.

The Huskies simply had no more energy, emotion to give.

"In my mind, the two most amazing things I've ever seen was us having three teams in the Final Four in 1985 and the way Villanova won it,'' said former Big 
East commissioner Mike Tranghese, "and what UConn did in 2011. "There has never been anything like it, nor is there likely to be in the future.''

All the Huskies did was to win  five consecutive Big East tournament games in five nights and then win six more games over three weekends to give Coach Jim Calhoun his third national championship.

""We had good players,'' said Calhoun in a phone conversation earlier this week and after a few games (In the Big East tournament) I thought we had a chance to do something really special. But yes, it was an unbelievable  run.''

The amazing part is that it came with few signs of optimism.

Although the Huskies opened the season with a flourish--including victories over Michigan State and Kentucky--and a 10 game winning streak, they staggered at the end of the season with 4 losses in their last five games and a a mediocre 9-9 record in the Big East.

That prevented the Huskies from getting any byes in the Big East tournament .and into a Tuesday-Saturday marathon run .

""Jim asked me how many games I thought they needed to win to get an NCAA bid,''said Tranghese. "I told him at least one and probably two games.''

What helped Calhoun and the Huskies was the Big East's well deserved  reputation as a super conference, an authentic label since the NCAA selection committee included a record 11 Big East teams in the 2011 tournament.

Also working in UConn's favor was Calhoun's respect for the Big East tournament, which he regarded almost on the same level as the NCAA tournament.

The gauntlet facing UConn was imposing. 

After an easy (97-71) win over DePaul, the Huskies next four opponents--and victims--were Georgetown (a No. 6 seed in the tournament), Pitt (a No. 1 seed), Syracuse (No. 3 seed) and Louisville (a No. 4 seed).

"In some ways, winning the Big East was tougher than winning the NCAA tournament,' said Calhoun with a laugh.

""The biggest thing, ''said Calhoun, ""was that they (his players) actually believed they could do it. And once we found the moment, we stuck with it.''

Leading the way was guard Kemba Walker, a 6-foot-1 inch junior guard named Kemba Walker, who nearly carried the Huskies on his back and became the Huskies go to guy in almost every situation.

All Walker did was average 23.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

After posting a rousing 69-66 win over Louisville in Saturday night's Big East tournament finals, the Huskies knew their tournament ticket had been cashed they just didn't know where their NCAA trip would take them.

And in some way, it was an easier trip. As a No. 3 seed in the West, the Huskies rolled over No. 14 Bucknell, 85-52..

They then knocked off Cincinnati, San Diego State and Arizona and found themselves in a Final Four which included Kentucky, a team had already beaten and a Butler team wearing a Cinderella Hoosiers hat.

As was the case in the Big East tournament, Walker wouldn't let UConn lose and the Huskies had done the impossible: an 11 game winning streak which had turned a 9-9  ho hum Big East season into a 30-9 national championship team.

"They actually believed,'' said Calhoun. "They really did.. Kemba was a geat leader and magical things happened. And after 3 or four games in the Big East tournament, it all turned around.''