Five Worst UConn Losses Ever

[nomar]

Those two, UCLA (95) and UNC (98) didn't really hurt at all. We played well, just lost to a better, deeper team.

I felt bad for Caron, of course, and still do. But it didn't really register on the pain schedule.

Texas was in the Sweet 16 btw.

The Maryland one hurt because we had it in our hands.

 

[Fishy]

The Texas loss in the Sweet 16. We roll the rest of those bastards if that ball doesn't get stick on the rim.

Maryland in the Elite Eight. We roll the rest of those bastards if Juan Dixon's three doesn't go in.

Florida in the Sweet 16. We roll the rest of those bastards if Donnyell hits a free throw.

George Mason in the elite eight. We roll the rest of those bastards if Denham Brown's shot goes down.

Duke in the elite eight. We roll the rest of those bastards if Tate tips the ball one-inch further to the left.

Honorable mention: Tennessee in the round of 32. We roll the rest of those bastards if Khalid had a stouter high-ankle.

We'd be sitting at ten championships by my math.

 

[B1GEast]

There were a whole bunch this past season. Losing the Arkansas by a lot was terrible.

But officially, George Mason and Florida are the two most painful UConn losses that still bother me.

That 2006 team should have cut down the nets. No excuse. No excuse.

Edited per Fishy's post above, the Maryland game sucked too. Caron was a real warrior. He put that teston his back. Tough loss, but they went on to win the title, so in a small way, it's my only solice.

 

[UConnNick]

Those two, UCLA (95) and UNC (98) didn't really hurt at all. We played well, just lost to a better, deeper team.

I felt bad for Caron, of course, and still do. But it didn't really register on the pain schedule.

Texas was in the Sweet 16 btw.

True about UCLA and UNC, although it would have been interesting to see how those two games would have played out at neutral venues. That Texas game, too. We were at that game.

The night of the UNC game I had to play in the annual father-son BB game at my son's school. I recorded the game, was very careful not to hear or see the score, and watched it virtually live after midnight. My neighbors probably didn't appreciate the screaming going on past 2 a.m.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

Honorable mentions: UCLA, San Diego, NC State, Mich St, Texas (am I the first to reference the loss to Julius Hodge?)

Yes, and it certainly qualifies.

 

[tzznandrew]

We went on to win the title.

No we didn't.

It also meant that, somehow!, Jeff Adrien graduated never winning a BET game. Crazy fact.

 

[B1GEast]

Tyus Edny's lay up. Ouch

 

[Waquoit]

1) Florida 1994
2) Duke 1990
3) Miss St 1996
These are the clear top 3 to me. Nothing after 1999 can surpass these, IMO. The reason these hurt so bad, particularly Florida and MSU, is because we had never been to the Final Four.

We held the record for most NCAA appearances without a FF. Breaking through was huge. I think BYU is the current record holder.

 

[Jaker]

The loss to UCLA hurt because everyone now knows how dirty Harrick was and that UCLA team should have been banned.

 

[tzznandrew]

We held the record for most NCAA appearances without a FF. Breaking through was huge. I think BYU is the current record holder.

BYU - 29
Xavier -28
Missouri - 26

It was our 21st tournament when we finally broke through, having been 0-4 in Elite 8s before that.

 

[Dooch]

George Mason doesn't bother me as much because we didn't really look like a top seed that entire tournament (struggled with Albany, an average UK team and Washington), so it didn't totally surprise me.

I would add losses to NC State the year before, the loss to Texas (Marcus White shot getting stuck on the rim I think was that game) and losing to UNC in Greensboro. They were good but if that was on a truly neutral court I think we had a better shot at winning...

 

[ConnHuskBask]

No we didn't.

It also meant that, somehow!, Jeff Adrien graduated never winning a BET game. Crazy fact.

Same as my time in Storrs.

My buddies would come to my parents house in NJ the day of their first game and we would watch with plans to go into The Garden for the game the next day if they won. Never got to a game in the Big East Championship as a student due to that.

To make matters worse, I believe it was Syracuse who knocked them out in 06, 07, and 09.

 

[tzznandrew]

Same as my time in Storrs.

My buddies would come to my parents house in NJ the day of their first game and we would watch with plans to go into The Garden for the game the next day if they won. Never got to a game in the Big East Championship as a student due to that.

To make matters worse, I believe it was Syracuse who knocked them out in 06, 07, and 09.

Yup, with WVU in 08 with Alexander kicking our butts.

 

[ASweet3781]

There's only 5 of note IMO.

The worst

1a. George Mason- Feelings of emotion. Anger, disappointment, humiliation, embarrassment. No one could turn on a sportscast or read any newspaper or magazine until at least a week after this game. No UConn team has ever had more venom directed at it by its fans due to one loss. Funny because most would sign up for 30-6 right now.

1b. 1994 Florida- Feelings of emotion. Heartbreak, shock, anger, disappointment. All Donyell had to do was hit a free throw and we face BC to go to the Final 4. We played a terrible 2nd half, blew a lead, and Calhoun made some questionable moves.

Heartbreaker

2. 1990 Duke- Feelings of emotions. Heartbreak. Sadness. An OT loss at the buzzer by Laettner by one of the most likable and trailblazing UConn teams of all time. It sucked, but not the humiliation and anger of the first 2.

Pre 1999 tough NCAA losses by great UConn teams

3. 1996 Mississippi State- Feelings of emotion. Numbness. Reserved to our fate. It was too good to be true. Only 2 losses. At worse the 2nd best team in the country after Kentucky with UMass. An easy bracket. This team was finally going to get Calhoun to the Final 4. And than we fall down right out of the gate by like 20 points. It was over right in the first ten minutes.

4. 1995 UCLA- Feelings of emotion. Disappointment. What could have been. Calhoun said if Tyus Edney doesn't go coast to coast against Missouri we go to the Title game that year vs Arkansas and possibly win our first championship. Hard to disagree seeing we lost to the eventual champions 102-96.


I don't think any other losses compare. 2002 was playing with house money and went out against the eventual champions in a great fashion. 1998 was a year away and was not beating UNC in Greensboro. I know those under 30 like to put 2009 against Michigan St but I think that team was a success. They had never won a postseason game before the 2009 NCAA Tournament. They were playing in front of 72k MSU fans and never had control. And we weren't beating UNC w/o Dyson.

 

[scotty0330]

Maryland in 2002 was a gut punch too. Caron’s last game and we were up late before A couple of late 3’s did us in. Plus getting to final four on cuse home floor would have been extra sweet.

 

[SubbaBub]

1) Florida 1994 - UConn was a much better team than Florida, and BCU was waiting for UConn in the Final 8. UConn would have beat BCU by 20. While Donyell is the focus for a brutal game, I think this is also Calhoun's worst game as a coach. UConn went something like 15 minutes without a field goal, and Brian Fair barely played in this game. I don't care what doghouse Fair happened to be in at the time or the fact that he was useless defensively, we needed his scoring, and Fair could score.

Florida vs. Connecticut Box Score, March 25, 1994 | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

2) George Mason - Boone and Armstrong were absolute Charmin inside against GMU's 6'7 forwards.

George Mason vs. Connecticut Box Score, March 26, 2006 | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

3) UCLA 1995 - Another game that could have used more Brian Fair. It wasn't like Ray and Ollie were stopping Edny and Bailey, so why not match fire with fire? I also think Calhoun should have recognized sooner that Bailey was releasing down court off our shot. Half of Edney's assists were length of the court passes.

UCLA vs. Connecticut Box Score, March 25, 1995 | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

4) Duke 1990 - All Tate had to do was knock the ball down court. Why did he try to catch it? Hurley also had the best 0 for 9 game I have ever seen. He shredded UConn's press.

Duke vs. Connecticut Box Score, March 24, 1990 | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

5) Texas 2003 - this game bugs me because the officiating was so terrible. There is no way the fouls should have been even given the gorilla basketball that Texas played that game.

Texas vs. Connecticut Box Score, March 28, 2003 | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Mississippi State 1996 - This one doesn't bother me that much, other than I am confident UConn would have made the Final Four if they won this game. Mississippi State looks better in hindsight than it did at the time (3 NBA players on the team) and that UConn team was a 2 man offense. There was no Plan C if Allen and Scheffer had off nights at the same time.

Mississippi State vs. Connecticut Box Score, March 22, 1996 | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

This, though I would have Miss St. higher. The 94-96 teams were the best stretch of talent in program history. 2006 and 2009 were talented by flawed. 2011 and 2014 were led by a single transcendent player that fit well with it's supporting cast. The mid-90's teams had mulitple ways to win and any of those 3 could have won it all and were favored to do so.

Losing to MSU in Detroit was disappointing because we've never lost in the FF but we were not beating UNC that year without Dyson (and probably even with Dyson.)
Losing in 2003 to Texas in Texas and in 1998 to UNC in NC don't bother me as much as having to play them there. At least until we finally got a big NCAA game in NYC.

The worst loss in UConn history however is Rutgers in 2009 in Football.

 

[the Q]

We've had too much good news this week. So in an effort to appease the mojo gods, I offer this thread.

5. Duke 101, UConn 54 (1964 Elite 8): Before my time, but my father talked about this one until the day he died. We'd just beaten Princeton – featuring Bill Bradley – 52-50 in the Sweet 16 and this represented what was really our introduction on the national stage.

And so Duke absolutely humiliated us in one of the biggest blow-outs in tournament history. **** Duke.

4. Syracuse 127, UConn 117 (2009 BET): This one is maybe a little controversial to put on the list for a few reasons. First, not an NCAA tourney game. Second, it was actually a dog$h!t game. Third, 'Cuse went on to lose to Louisville anyway. Fourth, we made the Final Four that year, so it was by definition successful.

I don't care, though. This is the No. 1 game people remember against our most hated rival. Any time folks talk "Syracuse v UConn," this is the first game that gets mentioned. It kills me.

3. Florida 69, UConn 60 (1994 Sweet 16): We were 29-4, we had a fun and balanced team that could score at all 3 levels, we rebounded and protected the paint, we ran, we were deep. And most of all, we had Donyell – who was, at worst, the third-best player in the country that season, and who'd been so clutch for the entire year.

I still can't believe he missed those free throws.

2. Mississippi State 60, UConn 55 (1996 Sweet 16): We were 32-2 and IMO the best team in the country. We had the best player in the country. We'd just knocked off a really good Georgetown team in the BET via an incredible shot from Ray and literally the best 1v1 defense I've ever seen from a college guard (thanks Ricky!).

Injuries killed us. But still, I remember being filled with complete despair after this one. I was utterly convinced Calhoun would never, ever lead us over the hump – that his teams would always choke in March.

1. Duke 79, UConn 78 (1990 Elite 8): **** Duke.

------------

FWIW, the George Mason loss never really rated for me on the pain scale (I don't know why), and same with the 2009 Final 4 loss. I suppose if Dyson had stayed healthy I'd feel otherwise, though.

Your two you leave off are too 3 for me. Had absolutely no business even having a close game with either team.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

The loss to UCLA hurt because everyone now knows how dirty Harrick was and that UCLA team should have been banned.

That 1995 team was also probably UConn's 3rd or 4th best team ever.

 

[stillinstorrs]

For old times sake, 1983 BET in Htfd. Loss to St John's on a late jumper by Freshman Chris Mullen. The 70's blown big lead at the NIT vs BC. As a kid, the emotional investment was the same as 1999.

 

[Jaker]

Its amazing how the Terps have fallen since winning the title in 02

 

[the Q]

The Texas loss in the Sweet 16. We roll the rest of those bastards if that ball doesn't get stick on the rim.

Maryland in the Elite Eight. We roll the rest of those bastards if Juan Dixon's three doesn't go in.

Florida in the Sweet 16. We roll the rest of those bastards if Donnyell hits a free throw.

George Mason in the elite eight. We roll the rest of those bastards if Denham Brown's shot goes down.

Duke in the elite eight. We roll the rest of those bastards if Tate tips the ball one-inch further to the left.

Honorable mention: Tennessee in the round of 32. We roll the rest of those bastards if Khalid had a stouter high-ankle.

We'd be sitting at ten championships by my math.

I thought it was the Blake 3 that did it

 

[Jaker]

Baxter is what did it. He had his way in the paint with Selvie

 

[the Q]

Baxter is what did it. He had his way in the paint with Selvie

Baxter was the real deal

 

[Fishy]

I thought it was the Blake 3 that did it

UConn was up 77-74.

Dixon hit a three with Taliek guarding him.

He misses - we put that game away.

 

[the Q]

UConn was up 77-74.

Dixon hit a three with Taliek guarding him.

He misses - we put that game away.

Was it Blake who gave them the lead?