Ten years after achieving the same great feat, Connecticut has won both the men’s and women’s NCAA basketball championships.
After the longshot men’s team won the title on Monday night, the powerhouse women’s team completed an undefeated season by easing past previously unbeaten Notre Dame (79-54) in the final game.
It is the ninth women’s title for Connecticut, all under coach Geno Auriemma and that is one more than Pat Summitt achieved with the Tennessee Lady Vols.
Geno Auriemma
In the NCAA basketball final game between two title long shots, Connecticut won it all, beating Kentucky (60-54).
What a great run by Connecticut, which was banned from the tournament a year ago. Shabazz Napier, a backup on the 2011 Connecticut title team, scored 22 points in the final game and was named the most outstanding player of the tournament.
Free throws were one of the keys, as the Connecticut Huskies made all 10 they attempted while the Kentucky Wildcats made but 13 of 24.
Connecticut is (4-0) in championship games while Kentucky fell to (8-4). Connecticut coach Kevin Ollie won his first title while Kentucky coach John Calipari is now (1-2) in title games.
Shabazz Napier
It will be a battle of two undefeated teams for the first time ever in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament final game tomorrow night.
Connecticut will take on Notre Dame in what shapes up as a great game.
The NBA San Antonio Spurs and NHL Boston Bruins are very close to being certain top ranked teams as the playoffs will be upon us in both leagues, within two weeks.
Yesterday 13 of the 15 major league baseball teams that lost on Saturday, came back to win on Sunday. This included the Baltimore Orioles, handing the now (4-1) Detroit Tigers their first loss. No team has yet to win a game after the first week of play.
The 2014 NCAA Basketball championship game will match Connecticut against Kentucky.
Each school was a longshot to make the finals and both have great records in NCAA Championship games.
Connecticut is (3-0) in NCAA finals games, all under former coach, Jim Calhoun. Now as the seven seed from the East region, they will try to make it (4-0). Their coach is Kevin Ollie.
Kentucky is (8-3) in NCAA finals games, and was the eight seed in the Midwest region. They won their last title under current coach John Calipari, two years ago.
Prediction: Two great stories and incredible runs to get to this point, by each team. Kentucky and Calipari have won three really close games. In 2008 as Memphis coach, Calipari suffered arguably the worst loss in finals history, dissipating a late, significant lead to Mario Chalmers and Kansas. My shaky prediction is Kentucky to win. They are a three point favorite.
The NBA and NHL seasons are winding down and recent hot streaks by last year’s runners-up in each league are the big story.
Both the NBA San Antonio Spurs, whose 19 game winning streak ended in Oklahoma City Thursday night and the NHL Boston Bruins lost heartbreaking finals series last season.
The Bruins have amassed 32 of a possible 34 points in their last 17 games and have all but clinched the best record in the NHL East.
The Spurs seem to have a comfortable lead in the race for the best record in the NBA.
Tomorrow night the NCAA Basketball Tournament’s semi-finals will be played in Dallas, Texas.
The first game will match the tournament’s overall top seed and the only one seed in the semi-finals: Florida vs Connecticut.
Connecticut, an overall champion in three of its four national semi-final appearances, has one more than Florida. Both of Florida’s titles were under current coach Billy Donovan as they won in both 2006 and 2007.
The second game will match Kentucky and Wisconsin. Kentucky has won 8 national titles, which is the second most behind UCLA. Their most recent title was under current coach John Calipari, two years ago. Wisconsin’s lone title was in 1941.
Predictions: Florida, a six and a half point favorite, to win by nine points. Wisconsin a one point underdog to upset Kentucky.
Kentucky University rode a three point shot by Aaron Harrison to a three point win vs Michigan University in the Midwest region final. They now will play in the national semi-finals for the 16th time in the school’s illustrious basketball history.
Kentucky, which knocked off defending national champion, Louisville as a 5 point underdog, was a two and a fraction point favorite vs Michigan.
That Kentucky/Michigan game was the only one of the four regional finals in which the favorite covered the spread. Two were outright upsets and one resulted in the favorite winning by less than the margin it was favored. Tomorrow my predictions for the national semi-finals/final four.
The Wisconsin University Badgers are going to just their third national semi-final after a stirring one point overtime win vs Arizona last Saturday.
Wisconsin which also went to the national semi-finals in 1941 and 2000, winning the title in 1941, was the West Region two seed.
They eased to victories in their first three tournament games and then won a thrilling game vs the West region top seed, Arizona Wildcats.
Last Sunday, before a mostly home crowd at Madison Square Garden, five and a fraction point underdog, Connecticut advanced to the fifth national semi-final in school history, by beating Michigan State.
Connecticut, which won it all on three of its four trips to the national semi-finals, will face top seed Florida in the opening game on Saturday night.
Florida is a six and a half point favorite. Meanwhile Michigan State was denied a ninth trip to the national semi-finals, having won it all twice, once with Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Greg Kelser in 1979 and once under current coach Tom Izzo in 2000.
The loss by Michigan State also means that after correctly forecasting North Carolina to be the 2009 NCAA Basketball champion, President Barack Obama has not picked the NCAA winner for five straight seasons. Welcome to the club, Mr. President.
In the South Region of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, top seed Florida broke a 3 consecutive year regional final losing streak with a 10 point win vs Dayton.
Florida was a 10 and a half point favorite. Dayton was great in the tournament, pulling three outright upsets and covering the spread in all four of their games.
Florida lost in the regional finals to Butler in 2011, Louisville in 2012 and to Michigan last season. None of those teams went on to win the tournament.
Florida is easily the top choice going into the final four as they are the only of the four top seeds to make it to Dallas for national semi-final games this Saturday.
Andy B Sports 