We missed this last week, but are able to get to it with UConn in Monday’s national title game against San Diego State.
There’s been no love lost between Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma over the years
Would Coach Calhoun pose with Geno for a photo at the Final Four??
Ummm….#UConn pic.twitter.com/73EJD1O6iw
— Maggie Gray (@MaggieGray) March 31, 2023
Too good.
It remains incredible that Geno Auriemma and Jim Calhoun — two prickly Hall of Fame college basketball coaches — managed to arrive in the same small Connecticut town in the middle of nowhere and have to share a kingdom. And do so while loathing each other.
Also: UConn’s status as a sustained men’s college basketball power is one of the more underrated marvels in sports. If the Huskies beat the Aztecs, it will be their fifth NCAA crown in 24 years under three different coaches. That is astonishing.
More on Monday’s national final, via ESPN:
On Monday night, the 4-seeded Huskies will play for their fifth championship — and their first since 2014 (also won in the state of Texas, it should be noted). Should they win, they would tie Duke for the most titles since 1985. They’ve been on this stage before.
The Aztecs? Not so much. This season saw the No. 5 seed advance to its first Elite Eight, Final Four and now national championship game in program history. Should Brian Dutcher’s team win, it would be the second time in history a first-time Final Four team won a national championship (UConn did it in 1999), and the first time a 5-seed took the trophy. A lot of records are at stake.
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James Kratch can be reached at james.kratch@xlmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @jameskratch.
