49-5 in conf.: '94-96 why not even one final 4? | The Boneyard

49-5 in conf.: '94-96 why not even one final 4?

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chapwilvaug72

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Someone said in another thread UCONN had this gaudy record in the regular season. The squads were 29-5, 28-5, 30-3. Ignoring the '96 void; what happened? With those numbers the FL homecourt in '94 & ucla homecourt in '95 shouldn't be the deciding factor. In '96 did UCONN play ms. st. in the south? I know Ricky M. got hurt in '96 which didn't help.

What were the deciding factors as to UCONN not getting even 1 final four exsposure during this heyday?
 
Twice they lost to teams they should have beaten, the other UCLA was clearly better. It happens in a one-and-done.
1996 was the low point.
 
If you recall, that was one of the weakest periods for the big east....however, I think there lack of inside presence during that period hurt them...They have been traditionally bigger since 99, the past couple years has been the exception, however I think next year these bigs might translate to be pretty solid.
 
However I do think that if Donyell hits those two shots, they would have been final four bound....I think I cried after that loss, legitamately
 
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maineuconnfan said:
If you recall, that was one of the weakest periods for the big east....
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Those Georgetown and Syracuse teams were pretty good, as was 'Nova.

I think the '96 UConn team was emotionally spent after beating G'Town (and all the bullshit ESPN hype) in the BET. There was no bouncing back for them after that.
 
1994 was a choke job. The 1 seed UNC was knocked out by BC. We had a lead vs Florida. Blew it. Donyell still goes to the free throw line with like 3 seconds left and misses both. We would have faced BC for the Final 4 who we were in the midst of a huge win streak against. This loss is right up there with George Mason as worst ever. The 1990 Duke loss as well but that team didn't blow it like the other 2.

1995 was horrible luck and a terrible job by the selection committee. Because we lost to Villanova in the BET finals, Villanova and UMass both stayed home in the east. Villanova loses in the first round to Old Dominion. And UMass gets blown out by Oklahoma State in the regional final. UConn would have run Big Country and Okie State out of the Meadowlands. Instead we go to the west coast and lose a track meet to the #1 team and eventual champion UCLA 102-96.

1996 wouldn't have mattered so who cares but Ricky Moore's injury and a horrible shooting night by our guards spelled doom.

I would say back than UConn played pretty weak non conference schedules which did not help.
 
ASweet3781 said:
1994 was a choke job. The 1 seed UNC was knocked out by BC. We had a lead vs Florida. Blew it. Donyell still goes to the free throw line with like 3 seconds left and misses both. We would have faced BC for the Final 4 who we were in the midst of a huge win streak against. This loss is right up there with George Mason as worst ever. The 1990 Duke loss as well but that team didn't blow it like the other 2.

1995 was horrible luck and a terrible job by the selection committee. Because we lost to Villanova in the BET finals, Villanova and UMass both stayed home in the east. Villanova loses in the first round to Old Dominion. And UMass gets blown out by Oklahoma State in the regional final. UConn would have run Big Country and Okie State out of the Meadowlands. Instead we go to the west coast and lose a track meet to the #1 team and eventual champion UCLA 102-96.

1996 wouldn't have mattered so who cares but Ricky Moore's injury and a horrible shooting night by our guards spelled doom.

I would say back than UConn played pretty weak non conference schedules which did not help.
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well, there was a period of time, when teams didn't really play tough non-con schedules. I also remember back in the late 80's that if a big east team won 18-19 games they were a lock for the tourney
 
we choked in 94 and 96 (donyell and ray) and in 95 we were beaten by a better team...
 
I think we showed ourselves to be about the second best team in the country in that elite 8 battle with UCLA. I don't think Edney even played in the final and UCLA still won.
 
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The entire 90s only two Big East teams made Final Fours -- Syracuse '96 and us '99. It was not a strong time for the league.
To me there's no question the '96 loss to Mississippi State was the low point maybe of Calhoun's entire tenure on the court. We lost everybody after that year. We'd come close and fallen short several times by then. It really looked (to me, anyway) like we might never make it.
I don't buy that we were gassed from the Georgetown win, and the Ricky Moore injury is overblown. We had more than enough to win without him. It was a total letdown.
 
I seem to remember Donny Marshall breaking his leg in the Florida game...but the writeup I found didn't bring up anything about it. Am I crazy?

*Being right and being crazy here are not mutually exclusive, to be sure.*
 
David 76 said:
I think we showed ourselves to be about the second best team in the country in that elite 8 battle with UCLA. I don't think Edney even played in the final and UCLA still won.
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Yes. Edney going coast to coast against Missouri was a low point in NCAA basketball for me.
 
How bout the final score of that UCLA game? 102-96. Not something you're likely to see these days.
 
Inyatkin said:
The entire 90s only two Big East teams made Final Fours -- Syracuse '96 and us '99. It was not a strong time for the league.
To me there's no question the '96 loss to Mississippi State was the low point maybe of Calhoun's entire tenure on the court. We lost everybody after that year. We'd come close and fallen short several times by then. It really looked (to me, anyway) like we might never make it.
I don't buy that we were gassed from the Georgetown win, and the Ricky Moore injury is overblown. We had more than enough to win without him. It was a total letdown.
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If you remember correctly Doron Sheffer was essentially playing on 1 leg in that game against Miss. St. Losing Ricky Moore and Doron sheffer playing injured was too much to overcome.
 
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BigErnMcCracken said:
__g Erick Dampier and Darryl Wilson. God that game was terrible.
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Darryl Wilson. 7 threes and 27 pts. I've never been more devastated after a Uconn loss.

Ps. One of the few things I hate more than Dampier and Wilson is the douchenozzle who started this thread. Everything you post sucks.
 
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I can live with 94-96 it's George Mason that makes me cry myself to sleep at night...
 
I agree with CA Husky's parting comments. I also believe that clearly the three worst games that Sheffer played in his life (not just in a UConn uniform) were the three tournament games we lost while he was here.
 
My memory is also that we were a very soft team during those days. We were a finesse team that beat you in transition and with Sheffer became a devastating quick strike offense. But, if you made us play in the half court and got physical with us, we would struggle. Our stars, Donyell and Ray, both did not like a lot of contact.
 
Simple - Calhoun and Boeheim were playing too much golf together. The boogered one was influencing him. :)
 
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1990-1996 it seemed like we were cursed. I never thought we'd get to the promised land after 1996, I thought we had our opportunities and came up short.

For me, George Mason isn't in the same class as 1994 or 1996. I was a bit too young to have 1990 really affect me.
 
In 1990 we were so excited just to be there. The loss to Duke was tough but no one was going to beat UNLV that year. They destroyed Duke.
I think the Florida game was the worst.
 
Inyatkin said:
I don't buy that we were gassed from the Georgetown win, and the Ricky Moore injury is overblown. We had more than enough to win without him. It was a total letdown.
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They were toast in the tournament - I knew they were done against Eastern Michigan.
 
And you can't ignore the effect of the schneid. At that time, UConn held the record for most NCAA tournament appearances without making a Final Four (now held by BYU). It's tough to get off the schneid.
 
LIUCHusky said:
If you remember correctly Doron Sheffer was essentially playing on 1 leg in that game against Miss. St. Losing Ricky Moore and Doron sheffer playing injured was too much to overcome.
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Doron was hobbling because of a groin pull
 
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