Changing UConn History

[nomar]

If that 06 team somehow won a title, it would have still only been the second best UConn team of the Josh Boone Era. Never mind all of college basketball history.

They lost in a 1-8 game in their conference quarters, trailed by 12 in the second half of a 1-16 game and needed a miracle (and help from the stripes) to get out of the Sweet 16.

If anyone was old enough to be a Husky fan in 1990 and would reverse Mason '06 over Duke '90, they're crazy. Duke was heartbreaking, Mason felt like chickens coming home to roost. Although I totally agree with tk's point about history being altered. The euphoria of 1999 was enhanced by our searing hatred of Duke. That wouldn't have been there if Tate held the ball or if Chrissy missed.

I was at the George Mason game. It hurt. But that UConn team was fundamentally flawed and, I think, would have gotten beat up by Florida. I realize nobody here will admit that, but that's what I believe. Sure, we could have pulled the upset, but it was unlikely. Give me Donyell over Florida, Tate over Duke or Ray over UCLA any day of the week over that George Mason loss.

 

[Tk79]

Good point. I vote for a meaningless preseason game from the JC era so as to minimize any potential butterfly effect

 

[CAHUSKY]

Ahem.

The one caveat about that game is that our postseason run was annulled that year. So... yeah, I don't know. But it's a g****mn tragedy that Ray/Doron/Travis group didn't win a title to put an exclamation point on the most dominant 3-year Big East stretch in league history, save for Ewing's Georgetown group.

Good point. However, the level of shock and despair I felt after that game was unbelievable.

 

[JimHurley]

GEORGE MASON! If we beat them, we'd just have won title #5 last year.

 

[Robertelamin]

George Mason victory would have been followed by a game with Florida, a team that had two future Hall of Fame players on it.
No certain victory there.

Looking back I think Florida beats UConn in the Final Four had UConn advanced to be honest. I think if UConn beats UCLA in 1995 and Maryland in 2002 they win two more championships. Hats off to those teams because they were better but UConn was right there with them.

 

[Inyatkin]

Florida and Mississippi State are out -- neither would have put us in the Final Four, and we were Final Four or bust back then. 1990 makes sense, but that loss really did build up '99 into what it was (plus we'd have been slaughtered by UNLV). The point on Mason being chickens coming home to roost rings true. That team lived on the edge the entire last month of the season.
I'll go with Maryland 2002. That was a pretty unexpected run. We'd been out of the tournament the year before and didn't really turn into a national contender until late in the season. It was back and forth the whole way and deserves to be remembered among the best games we've played in over the years, but a win would've made it so much sweeter.
If we're including Ollie years, SMU this year is near the top, given the stakes.

 

[Husky1964]

Ray's three yrs. 49-5 in the toughest BB conference in the country.

 

[Gurleyman]

GEORGE MASON! If we beat them, we'd just have won title #5 last year.

Then again, if we got the whole tournament as a do over, we might lose to Albany.

Washington has more of a reason to lament 2006 than we do. They deserved to win the game they lost.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Tate hangs on to it, gets fouled, hits both, UConn wins 80-77 in OT. That team deserved a Final Four. Christian Laettner's shot never happened.

This is the one. Recruiting would have reached the level of the mid 90's a few years earlier, our BE dominance would have started a few years earlier and we would have been even further ahead of the pack and we very possibly could have added a couple of titles beyond what we did win.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

My pick - '94 Florida Regional Final. Loaded team, really wished Ray Allen won a title while at UConn, plus I would have been either on campus or bumming a ride to Charlotte for that game. Playing Duke (again) in the semifinal would have been intense and Arkansas was a very good team that year; but, I still like UConn's chances. I have never forgiven Donyell for those misses.

Second pick - '95 - Basically the same team as above; but, UConn lost in the regional final to the best team in the tournament that year in UCLA. Plus, if UConn had won, the nice young blonde co-ed from UCLA that I met on the train from Geneva to Munich shortly after that game would have never talked to me robbing me of a fun day with a beautiful girl sightseeing, drinking pints of beer, sightseeing back at our hostel in the shower, under the sheets, etc.

 

[Stainmaster]

Being in grade school during the George Mason game, I bawled my eyes out. Most visceral reaction I've ever had to a loss.
But I agree with the points being brought up about the uncertainty of that team being able to move past Florida. So I guess I'd have to go with 2002 UMD. I went to my first ever live game that season and it would've been so sweet to see them get title #2 that year.

 

[HuskyFich]

I would like to pick the Michigan St game in 09. That little blip keeps our F4 record less the perfect and I wanted that crew to get a ring so bad.
Although, if we go on to win the NC here...I don't think JC signs the extension in 2010. which could cancel out the 2011 ring

So maybe Ill be safe: George Mason!

 

[uconnfan68]

Undisputed George Mason for me, but there's been no love for the 6-OT game? I wish we would have pulled that one out.

I still haven't forgiven JC for not playing the 7' on the bench. Even if it was Jon Mandeldove. We needed a big in the end.

 

[joober jones]

Undisputed George Mason for me, but there's been no love for the 6-OT game? I wish we would have pulled that one out.

There were many games of No Mandeldove, but that's the 0 minute performance I remember from him the most.

 

[CL82]

Undisputed George Mason for me, but there's been no love for the 6-OT game? I wish we would have pulled that one out.

I believe the NCAA has already taken care of this. Wasn't the 6OT game part of the forfeited games?

 

[johnhuskies95]

Then again, if we got the whole tournament as a do over, we might lose to Albany.

Washington has more of a reason to lament 2006 than we do. They deserved to win the game they lost.

I don't know. Usually I agree with you, but I watched that game again about a month ago(great game by the way), and UConn got really sloppy at points in the first half, but they were right there the entire second half and then obviously it ended up going into overtime.

They shot better and rebounded better, the turnovers were what put Washington ahead towards the end of the first half.

 

[Ts5034]

Honesty, I believe any team in the country can have the same discussions that we are having right here in this thread. When you take part in a single elimination tournament as many times that we have, its just the hard truth that there will be some heartbreak. We have had a lot of tough losses in the tournament over the years and thats why the championship years feel so good...especially 1999 because it was the first one. As UConn fans, I think we appreciate them a lot more because of what we went through over the years to make it there.

On a side note, thats why I feel horrible for Arizona and Sean Miller. Losing in the elite 8 four years in a row is a killer. Three elite 8 losses and three sweet 16 losses in the 90's were tough for us as it is. I cant imagine being in their shoes.

 

[champs99and04]

I would have liked the 2009 Kentucky game at MSG to have turned out differently. It'd be nice to say we're 4-0 against Cal since he's been at Kentucky. Since it was from a non-tournament season, it probably wouldn't have altered history in any meaningful way.

 

[Gurleyman]

I don't know. Usually I agree with you, but I watched that game again about a month ago(great game by the way), and UConn got really sloppy at points in the first half, but they were right there the entire second half and then obviously it ended up going into overtime. They shot better and rebounded better, the turnovers were what put Washington ahead towards the end of the first half.

More just referring to the fact that they led pretty much the whole second half and we needed to score 9 points in our last 3 possessions to force OT, so they had us beat and it slipped away. I also thought the double tech that put Roy in foul trouble was bogus, but even if you feel he deserved it, that was at the very least a huge break that changed the game (I think another huge call went our way late).

 

[Dogbreath2U]

I was at the George Mason game. It hurt. But that UConn team was fundamentally flawed and, I think, would have gotten beat up by Florida. I realize nobody here will admit that, but that's what I believe. Sure, we could have pulled the upset, but it was unlikely. Give me Donyell over Florida, Tate over Duke or Ray over UCLA any day of the week over that George Mason loss.

I think that you are probably right about Florida in 2006, although it's hard to know how one team would match up against another.

In the game against Washington, I thought Brandon Roy was being an @ss that game, trying to intimidate Rudy. That technical was something that was building over the course of the game, much at his instigation IMHO.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I was at the George Mason game. It hurt. But that UConn team was fundamentally flawed and, I think, would have gotten beat up by Florida. I realize nobody here will admit that, but that's what I believe. Sure, we could have pulled the upset, but it was unlikely. Give me Donyell over Florida, Tate over Duke or Ray over UCLA any day of the week over that George Mason loss.

Have to agree. The UConn "team" that lost to George Mason deserved to loose. Reminds me of some of the Kentucky teams of today. A loaded roster with a lot of individuals who just don't get it. A team that I would root hard against if they were not UConn's own. The 6 OT game against 'Cuse, which I went too, was historical, win or loose. Can't stand Syracuse today; but it was an amazing night with friends and I would not to take any of that away from anyone. UNLV would have crushed UConn in '90. That leaves for me the '94 loss to Florida and then the '95 loss to UCLA, though, as I said, UCLA was the better team that year. Oddly, I don't remember '02; but, I was less than 2 months until my wedding and buying a house that year, so I was likely distracted. '96 also sticks out for me as that was a bad upset to Miss St in the regional Semi-final and I really wanted a crack at Coach Cal and UMass in the Final in New Jersey.

 

[CallMeBruce]

The garbage talked about the '06 team is ridiculous. They were one of the very best teams in the country all season, and a better team than Florida. Maybe they would have lost, because it's hard to win in the Final Four, but the idea that they couldn't have gotten past that Florida team is nonsense.

 

[CTBasketball]

06' George Mason without a question. They would have smacked Florida around - we outmatched them at every position.

 

[Fairfield_1st]

Tate hangs on to it, gets fouled, hits both, UConn wins 80-77 in OT. That team deserved a Final Four. Christian Laettner's shot never happened.

Has to be the Laettner shot for me. Spent good money at the time to go to that game. Long ride home to Storrs after that stinging defeat.

 

[nomar]

The garbage talked about the '06 team is ridiculous. They were one of the very best teams in the country all season, and a better team than Florida. Maybe they would have lost, because it's hard to win in the Final Four, but the idea that they couldn't have gotten past that Florida team is nonsense.

We squeaked by Washington only because Roy got a T, which counted as a personal foul. We were down 12 to Albany in the second half, and only Marcus's amazing play bailed us out. We struggled handling and passing the ball all season against good perimeter teams because we only had one guy who could dribble. If AJ was playing that season, it would have been a different story.

Now, you're right, none of that means we weren't one of the best teams in the country. We were. After Nova made us look like we couldn't dribble, we clowned them in the rematch.

Nobody is saying we couldn't have gotten past that Florida team. It was just very unlikely. They were a much more complete team. Just better.

 

[Gurleyman]

The garbage talked about the '06 team is ridiculous. They were one of the very best teams in the country all season, and a better team than Florida. Maybe they would have lost, because it's hard to win in the Final Four, but the idea that they couldn't have gotten past that Florida team is nonsense.

They were down 12 in the second half to a 16 seed. Right after losing to Syracuse in a 1-8 quarterfinal. Which was right after being tied with 12-17 Louisville with a minute to go at home. Which was right after blowing a 17-point lead at 7-24 USF. And with all the near-misses and lucky breaks and miracle comebacks, we had five minutes to get to the FF against George Mason and were badly outplayed. Not one defensive stop.

That team was not playing at a championship level. It just wasn't. Was lucky to make it as far as they did.

 

[Uconn77Duke74]

Has to be the Laettner shot for me. Spent good money at the time to go to that game. Long ride home to Storrs after that stinging defeat.

If we had won this game I don't think that 1999 Championship would have been quite as special. JC was so close to FF in 1990 he could taste it . I really think a lot of his fire and the future success of UConn came from that near miss "Dream Season" team. I was a freshman at uconn that year and remember being at the game. Those of us in student section really laid into Bobby Hurley..he had to leave the game at least 3 or 4 times to rush to the bathroom as he had food poisoning or a stomach flue or something.

 

[UC313]

1/22/05 UConn vs. Pitt in the snowstorm. Due to blizzard conditions they opened up the doors at Gampel. Place was knockin. I was 5 rows behind Dickie V. We go into halftime up something ridiculous like 20. Rudy gets lazy in the second half and we lose by a handful. Rudy makes my least favorite husky simply because of that game. That was the longest 30 mph ride home ever.

This is the first time ive talked about that game in 10 years publically.

 

[Mots010]

The 2006 team could score at will, but that last month they just stopped defending all together. Look at some of the point totals we gave up. Part of that is guys like Marcus Williams, Rashad, Denham just were never great defenders, and the other part was they were just punched out. A big part of defense is just plain effort, along with communication/teamwork, and I'm not sure the chemistry was there to lock a team down. Florida would have handled us with relative ease I think.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

In order:

2006 - UConn vs. George Mason - Florida was the only team in the Final 4 that had a chance against us, and we matched up well with that team at every position. UConn beats George Mason, UConn wins the National Championship.

1994 - UConn vs. Florida - UConn should have beat Florida and would have killed BCU in the next round. This NC was winnable as soon as BCU knocked off UNC.

1995 - UConn vs. UCLA - One of the best performances by a UConn team in a loss. UConn would probably have beat Okie State, although Big Country would have shredded Travis, but a UConn/Arkansas matchup would have been a tossup.

2002 - UConn vs. Maryland - this team was more Caronsanity than a particularly good team. Okafor and Gordon were too young. I believe that Selvie was the #2 scorer on the team. I don't think UConn would have gotten by Kansas.

1990 - UConn vs. Duke. I hate Laettner as much as the next guy, but UNLV was waiting for UConn in the Final Four and there was no way UConn was beating that wrecking crew.