The UConn Huskies beat the Kentucky Wildcats 60 – 54 in this year’s NCAA March Madness tournament. With a total of 32 wins this season, the Huskies became the national champions for the second time in just four years. Every year that UConn has made it to the final game, they’ve won, leaving the program with a perfect 4 – 0 record. Kentucky was a formidable opponent with 29 wins this season, but the team with an all-freshman starting five but couldn’t pass the Huskies, who came back this season after being suspended for over a year.
Shabazz Napier, the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player who scored 22 points in the championship game, addressed the audience after UConn received the championship trophy, saying, “Ladies and Gentlemen, you are looking at the hungry Huskies. This is what happens when you ban us.”
A postseason ban was imposed on UConn’s basketball team last season as part of a penalty for poor academic performance in past years. Ryan Boatright, another UConn player, explained that the team had been angry for sometime and that the team talked about it often, saying, “We had nothing to do with the sanctions last year, and they punished us.”
UConn’s basketball team had a strong start from the beginning of the season and was determined to make up for the time they lost. At the championship game another UConn player, DeAndre Daniels, said, “We always knew we were going to get here. We’ve known since last year. It hurt to go through what we went through… That was when we knew we were going to be here and win it.”
Throughout the process, the Huskies’ coach, Kevin Ollie, supported the team, offering them words of encouragement and motivating them to strive for the title in the future. The players kept their spirits up and continued to work hard, making their dreams of winning another NCAA championship title a reality.
For more information about UConn’s win over Kentucky, please visit: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/nap-time-uconn-rides-defiant-shabazz-national-title-win-kentucky-article-1.1749046.
