8 of the best individual NCAA tournament runs ever

[superjohn]

Really though? All the hype aside, I really did not think that 2014 UK team was good at all, hey looked like they had no natural ball players, just athletes. The rest of the tournament field up to that game maybe, but I wasn't especially threatened by that Wildcats team, the media just went out of its way to remind everyone the name on the front of their jersey means they are automatically better than the competition.

Never been more confident in a big game in my entire life. Once we beat Florida I was already acting like we won the championship, kept having to remind myself we had a game on Monday night. It was weird, I just knew there was no way we were losing.

On paper the teams 2014 had to go through in the NCAA tournament were better because of ranking but I think the 2011 team had a slightly tougher road. SDSU on their home turf was the toughest team we had to play in either run. It's tough playing against Kawhi Leonard and with 95% of the building against you. Next game against another hostile crowd and Derrick Williams was as good as it gets in college. I still feel like I'm having a heart attack when I see that Fogg three pointer go up.

 

[uconngb]

I disagree on Bazz having a much weaker supporting cast. Maybe a slightly weaker supporting cast. Bazz didn't have any other NBA players in the bunch but they were a veteran core and Boat was an outstanding second guard. Once DeAndre kicked it into high gear it was a truly outstanding three lead players. Kemba's team was as young as it gets, there was some talent for sure but they were all kids.

Our #5 was a platoon of a freshman Amidah and Phil Nolan. I rest my case.

 

[BUConn10]

It also feels like when people want to selectively, alternatively, demonize some and whitewash others.
Like, for example, neglecting to mention that Native American tribes notoriously enslaved conquered foes, brutally raped female captives, tortured captured warriors, and conducted ritual sacrifice. Oh yeah, and they made money capturing and selling slaves to Europeans, and some owned African slaves.
Feels like that, right?

LMAO

 

[BUConn10]

Never been more confident in a big game in my entire life. Once we beat Florida I was already acting like we won the championship, kept having to remind myself we had a game on Monday night. It was weird, I just knew there was no way we were losing.

On paper the teams 2014 had to go through in the NCAA tournament were better because of ranking but I think the 2011 team had a slightly tougher road. SDSU on their home turf was the toughest team we had to play in either run. It's tough playing against Kawhi Leonard and with 95% of the building against you. Next game against another hostile crowd and Derrick Williams was as good as it gets in college. I still feel like I'm having a heart attack when I see that Fogg three pointer go up.

Our 2014 team was in a way the polar opposite of UK's team that year, it was like a matchup between the two ends of the spectrum of current coaching philosophies in college basketball for the national title. Young, athletic, blue chips versus experienced veteran leadership and heady play. I was just like you, I knew beating Florida was the biggest hurdle for the team thus far and a game against that UK team was in our favor. The smart controlled play of the guards won the game down the stretch when it seemed like UK was making a massive push. Napier's burning 20 seconds on the clock with a minute left with the pass to Kromah who made a similarly heady play with the up-fake to draw the foul was just masterful bball IQ on all fronts from our guys. You could see it in the players and Calipari's eyes that it was over after that, you couldn't even hope to foul us for extra possessions because they were not missing from the line and Calipari later admitted to it as such in the post-game interview.

 

[superjohn]

It also feels like when people want to selectively, alternatively, demonize some and whitewash others.
Like, for example, neglecting to mention that Native American tribes notoriously enslaved conquered foes, brutally raped female captives, tortured captured warriors, and conducted ritual sacrifice. Oh yeah, and they made money capturing and selling slaves to Europeans, and some owned African slaves.
Feels like that, right?

Good lord. Take it to the cesspool, actually don't.

 

[BUConn10]

Good lord. Take it to the cesspool, actually don't.

Don't attract more tiki torches to the cesspool please.

 

[Huskybass]

Kemba is 1 and Bazz is 1A. Two phenomenal, refuse to lose guys.

 

[tcf15]

 

[Storrs South]

I guess KD isn't the only one with multiple accounts

 

[UConnSwag11]

 

[UConnSwag11]

 

[UConnSwag11]

@tcf15

 

[DonaldDraper]

Our #5 was a platoon of a freshman Amidah and Phil Nolan. I rest my case.

Watching Nolan in the championship game was hilarious (in retrospect). Every time he tried to throw it down he got blocked. Those Kentucky athletes were just better athletes. Our front court was completely outmatched.

I believe the Harrison Twins had a combined 15 points....

 

[BUConn10]

Watching Nolan in the championship game was hilarious (in retrospect). Every time he tried to throw it down he got blocked. Those Kentucky athletes were just better athletes. Our front court was completely outmatched.

I believe the Harrison Twins had a combined 15 points....

Luckily for us guards score more points in college basketball. UConn 1 - 0 UK.

 

[UConnSwag11]

Watching Nolan in the championship game was hilarious (in retrospect). Every time he tried to throw it down he got blocked. Those Kentucky athletes were just better athletes. Our front court was completely outmatched.

I believe the Harrison Twins had a combined 15 points....

daniels phantom 2 second foul really messed with him the rest of the game

 

[superjohn]

Watching Nolan in the championship game was hilarious (in retrospect). Every time he tried to throw it down he got blocked. Those Kentucky athletes were just better athletes. Our front court was completely outmatched.

I believe the Harrison Twins had a combined 15 points....

And yet the Kentucky frontcourt did absolutely nothing. Athletically we were overmatched but Niels took Randle out of the game and nobody else did anything.

 

[MadDogRevival]

Athletically we were overmatched but Niels took Randle out of the game and nobody else did anything.

I always thought this was a huge key to the game. I remember Randle getting calf rubs or something and Kerr commented, "this is the final game. You've got to leave it out there." Almost, it seemed to me, implying that Randle knew he was having a tough game, and didn't want to look bad.
There was a stretch where Niels had two solid defensive plays in a row on Randle, yielding ground, two hands up, forcing up an uncomfortable shot that ended up being a brick that we rebounded, no foul. He also had a nice defensive play on Young, forcing an air ball.
Loved that dude from day 1.

 

[TheChamps990411]

I disagree on Bazz having a much weaker supporting cast. Maybe a slightly weaker supporting cast. Bazz didn't have any other NBA players in the bunch but they were a veteran core and Boat was an outstanding second guard. Once DeAndre kicked it into high gear it was a truly outstanding three lead players. Kemba's team was as young as it gets, there was some talent for sure but they were all kids.

Agreed. I know this may sound odd but i believe the Bazz run was more unexpected while the Kemba run was the better run of the two. I dont think, actually i know we`ll never see another March run like that by anyone. The 5 games in 5 days is one thing but people forget that of those 5 teams 4 were ranked in the top 25! Absolutely magical run. Man when things are right with this program it becomes absolutely special. The 99 team was special because they finally broke through and when they did they beat what many said was one of the best teams of all time. The 2004 team was fun but not special in the sense that they were the juggernaut and just destroyed their way to an expected title.

 

[intlzncster]

That is magnificent.

 

[uconnfan68]

Guess who from UConn is on the list?

March Madness: 8 of the best individual NCAA tournament runs ever

Should be 2 UConn teams. 2014 was more improbable than 2011.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Great research and breakdown. I do think you could do a similar objective analysis for defense and compare what Boatright and Napier did to opposing backcourts vs Kemba and Lamb. Then the fact that Kemba hit ALL the big shots in his run vs Amida Brimah's game saver in round 1 advances Kemba's cause. And back to the defense, subjectively if given one point to describe titles; in the 2014 title run UConn eviscerating every backcourt they faced, in 2001 Kemba's will and performances dominated games.

 

[MilliniumPrince]

Me: No matter how many more titles we win, I will never be as proud of a team as I was in 2011

Bazz and Boat 2014: Hold my beer

As great runs go, it is Danny and Miracles and Kemba and the Kids. Those outshine the rest.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

This is just a bullspit editorial call. The true article is a Top 10 list where they can't bring themselves to include Napier & Rice. I wonder what they've got against Rice.

 

[Towney007]

I still to this day think the 2011 team is a lot, lot, lot better than it's given credit for historically. They were a team where the wheels came off in the middle of the season, but bookended by two really, really dominant runs. Like some people have said - they didn't have the star power of past UConn teams... but they were solid almost everywhere. And I mean when you have far and away the best player in the country in a given year....

2014 was just an entirely different animal. It was a talented group, but they just couldn't get the engine to turn over all year. The pieces were there, they just couldn't find the right key. And while that team will always be remembered for Shabazz, I still to this day feel like that key was really D'Andre Daniels figuring everything out. Once he clicked, the whole thing came together really fast and then it was just off to the races.