What is the best UConn basketball game of all time?

[NotADimeBack]

For me it was the 99 natty,
04 FF Vs Duke
And i think the 04 big east final Vs pitt
Where taliek hit that long 3 at the shot clock buzzer

 

[FfldCntyFan]

For me it was the 99 natty,
04 FF Vs Duke
And i think the 04 big east final Vs pitt
Where taliek hit that long 3 at the shot clock buzzer

Taliek's shot was in '02.

 

[Greathusky]

Since this years team is at an important point in the season with some BIG games coming up, thought we could look back at some UConn Classics.

What is your favorite/best UConn basketball game you've ever seen?

For me, all I gotta say is .. 77-74

3/14/64
UCONN beats Princeton and mighty Bill Bradley 52-50.

Had to do this one becuase no one else will!

 

[Captbluefin]

Scottie to Tate George... The game and the play that really started it all..

 

[Blue Blood]

I love 2011 Texas obviously not the best ever but a lot of fun Kemba was so good and roscoe supplied an unforgettable moment

 

[Matrim55]

The thing I've always loved most about the '99 title team was their focus and determination. There were not going to be denied; period, end of story.

I've often wondered what a couple of subsequent teams would have done if they had a fraction of that team's will to win.

I've said it before on this board but I'll take the opportunity to say it again here: I was lucky enough to be the associate sports editor at the Daily Campus that year, and got to travel all over the country with that team. We went to Georgetown, Stanford, multiple trips to NYC, Syracuse, BC, and all the tournament games.

And there was no doubt in my mind, going into that Duke game, that they were going to win. Their will and professionalism was unmatched, and will likely remain so. I understand that other UConn teams have arguably been more talented, but nobody comes close to that 98-99 group in terms of mentality.

Put me down for the Big East Final against St John's. That first half was a clinic and St John's had their will crushed.

It was that 11-o run to start the 2nd half that really did it. By the first TV break this was Jarvis...

 

[Matrim55]

My god, look at how great this team was:



Somebody show tapes of how Hamilton moved off the ball to DHam, Rodney, Larrier, Jackson & Diallo, please.

 

[mauconnfan]

The first 2:45 of that game was a monster clinic. Breaks without the ball touching the ground, guys moving to find open spots on the floor, guarding people on D the Johnnies hardly got a shot off for about 3 trips at one time. Wow great memories.

 

[UCweCONN]

1999 National Title because it was our first title, a great game, and Coach K. said that Duke team was one of his best ever. #2 would be the 1996 Big East Championship win over Georgetown and Ray Allen's game winner.

 

[mauconnfan]

1976 ECAC Champs game, 1988 NIT Champs game, 1990 win over Clemson and loss to Duke (great game), 1995 loss to UCLA, 1999 #1 NCAA champ, 2004 NC Semi vs Duke

Too many to list, we're lucky

 

[RM99]

I was at the 1996 Big East Championsip game so that is a favorite. After Ray hit his shot I thought I'd have a heart attack as Georgetown missed at least three shots. Being at any big game is so exciting, but I have to say the 1999 championship is the greatest. Even from home. I can't even imagine how exciting it must have been to be there. So many fabulous memories and so many more to come!

 

[RedStickHusky]

I'll play the two game parlay from the 2014 FF; otherwise '99 ship. All three of those were 'giant killers'.

 

[4in16]

99 championship it's the one games score I'll never forget , 77-74.

 

[CTBasketball]

77-74
02' vs. Pitt
98' vs. Washington
90' vs. Clemson

And I think one of the best played games was 96' vs. Villanova at Gampel. Kittles vs. Allen, with the later having a night.

 

[FartMan69]

If only we had won the 6 OT affair..but '04 semi's V. Duke

 

[UConnTrumbull]

MSU '14 best non-championship game ever. Felt like we won a title though.

 

[Matrim55]

I'll play the two game parlay from the 2014 FF...

Am I a heretic if I say the Elite 8 win over Michigan State was, in its way, better? Whether we'd won the title or not just getting to the Final 4 was the real hurdle for Ollie (and those of us who were around in the '80s & '90s remember it was for Calhoun), and once it was taken the rest was house money.

Add in that it was MSG, that Izzo is universally regarded as one of the all-time great coaches, and that Sparty had sort of become the favorites... I honestly remember that game better than the Florida or UK games. And if there's one game from that run I'd want to show to somebody to get them to understand what UConn basketball is, that's it.

 

[johnhuskies95]

Some of my favorites include 77-74 obviously, but also 06 @Syracuse (what a romping), 09 @Louisville, 14 vs MSU @MSG.

Was that 06 Syracuse game the one where Gay, Hilton, and Denham(I think) ran a 3 man weave in Syracuse's half leading to a dunk? I think it was at home but it could've been in the Carrier Dome. Just epitomized mid 2000's UConn basketball.

 

[dtrumpet]

We really have been pretty damn lucky.
Since the wins are pretty easy ( but fun) to identify, I'll step out of the box a little. The best games that we lost. The 1995 loss to Tyus Edney and UCLA, and the 2002 loss to Juan Dixon and Maryland in the Carrier Dome. The second half of that game, with Dixon and Caron going back and forth with each team on their backs, absolutely tremendous.

 

[BUConn10]

Was that 06 Syracuse game the one where Gay, Hilton, and Denham(I think) ran a 3 man weave in Syracuse's half leading to a dunk? I think it was at home but it could've been in the Carrier Dome. Just epitomized mid 2000's UConn basketball.

It was basically Marcus, Rudy and Rashad just running absolute train on the orange in the first half. At one point in the 1H it was like 43-18

 

[RedStickHusky]

Am I a heretic if I say the Elite 8 win over Michigan State was, in its way, better? Whether we'd won the title or not just getting to the Final 4 was the real hurdle for Ollie (and those of us who were around in the '80s & '90s remember it was for Calhoun), and once it was taken the rest was house money.

Add in that it was MSG, that Izzo is universally regarded as one of the all-time great coaches, and that Sparty had sort of become the favorites... I honestly remember that game better than the Florida or UK games. And if there's one game from that run I'd want to show to somebody to get them to understand what UConn basketball is, that's it.

that whole run was magical, especially after dodging that first round bullet, we were unburdened in terms of expectations... the final four narrative, to me, was how florida would reverse the early season fluke loss to UConn and how Ky was bringing in an NBA team...

 

[businesslawyer]

We really have been pretty damn lucky.
Since the wins are pretty easy ( but fun) to identify, I'll step out of the box a little. The best games that we lost. The 1995 loss to Tyus Edney and UCLA, and the 2002 loss to Juan Dixon and Maryland in the Carrier Dome. The second half of that game, with Dixon and Caron going back and forth with each team on their backs, absolutely tremendous.

77 -- 74 was the best win. As many great wins as we had, it really isn't close when you combine the quality of the game, the stage and what it meant to our program. O.K. -- and it was Duke.

I like the question what was the best loss. The answer to that has to be it was a huge game and you left it with your hear held high, saying that was a great game and we were just beaten by a team that was better that night. So the answer is easy -- it was the loss to Maryland at the Carrier Dome in '02. I drove home from that game and 4 years later from DC after the loss to Mason, and it was entirely different. I can't believe we didn't get it done against Mason still today. I was not sad driving home from Syracuse. When you give it your best shot and lose to someone else who gave it their best shot and was better, you have to be proud in what you did and not worry that it wasn't enough.

 

[Waquoit]

1999 National Title because it was our first title, a great game, and Coach K. said that Duke team was one of his best ever.

I like this thread because it gives me a chance to repost this entry from Suck.com. (Suck was an early website that posted daily essays on pop culture and stuff)

 

[FfldCntyFan]

I like the question what was the best loss.

Hands downs the best loss ever was in the Connecticut Mutual Classic when getting blown out by Northeastern gave (then AD) Toner the leverage necessary to fire Perno and bring in Northeastern's head coach to run our program.

 

[Matrim55]

I like the question what was the best loss. The answer to that has to be it was a huge game and you left it with your hear held high, saying that was a great game and we were just beaten by a team that was better that night. So the answer is easy -- it was the loss to Maryland at the Carrier Dome in '02. I drove home from that game and 4 years later from DC after the loss to Mason, and it was entirely different. I can't believe we didn't get it done against Mason still today. I was not sad driving home from Syracuse. When you give it your best shot and lose to someone else who gave it their best shot and was better, you have to be proud in what you did and not worry that it wasn't enough.

I get what you're saying, but I remember after that game thinking "S***, Caron is gone. No way we'll be an elite team without him."

So for me, the best loss was actually the Texas game in 2003. We played as well as we could and got beat by a more experienced team, but after that game I just knew we were going to win it all in 2004. I was grinning ear-to-ear.