Storrs, Conn., is now officially the center of the college basketball universe.
The University of Connecticut pulled off a second golden double in school history when the Huskies' women's team defeated previously unbeaten Notre Dame, 78-58, to win the NCAA championship and finish a perfect 40-0 season in Nashville. Just one night earlier, the men's team defeated Kentucky, 60-54, to win its national title in Texas.
The UConn men's and women's team did the same thing in 2004.
There will definitely be a need more trophy space in Gampel Pavilion, where 7,500 fans showed up Tuesday to greet the men at a rally and then watch the women win on the giant scoreboard. Forward DeAndre Daniels and guard Ryan Boatright were both visible spectators, with Daniels bounding up and down and cheering.
"It's history being made," Boatright said. "It's only happened one other time and that was in '04, and I'm just glad to be a part of this."
After the final buzzer Tuesday, the fans poured out of the arena and began their second night of partying.
The women's team returned to Storrs Wednesday to take a victory lap in an open-air, double-decker bus with the pep band and cheerleaders, and finish with speeches at the Fairfield Way Plaza
The Huskies' men's team has won four national titles in the past 15 years, putting in the same rarified air as Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Duke and any of the elite programs in the country. The UConn women won their ninth and Gene Auriemma, who is already considered the greatest women's coach ever, is on the verge of surpassing John Wooden, who won 10 men’s titles at UCLA, for the most in the history of the sport.
The success of the UConn men's and women's teams and the fact that the Rutgers women won the WNIT and SMU finished second in the NIT has created an embarrassment of riches for the new American Athletic Conference. This is unparalleled and may never be duplicated again.
"I hope this isn't our high water mark,'' Commissioner Mike Aresco joked.
If you add in the fact that three American guards - Shabazz Napier of UConn, Sean Kilpatrick of Cincinnati and Russ Smith of Louisville --- were all selected AP first team All Americans and Napier and 6-4 sophomore Breanna Stewart from the women's team were both selected Most Outstanding Players of their respective Final Fours, it is hard to believe any conference has ever come close to this in basketball.
The frightening thing for the rest of women's basketball is this: given that most women stay for four years, there is no reason why this UConn dynasty can’t continue for the foreseeable future. The Huskies, who now have five unbeaten seasons, have won 46 straight games and they have the best young player on the planet in Stewart.
"We're in a league of our own,'' Auriemma said.
Beating the UConn women is problematic under the best of circumstances, but almost impossible when a team is not at full strength. The Huskies exploited the fact that Notre Dame's 6-3 starting center Natalie Achonwa was out with a torn knee ligament, and simply abused the Irish inside with Stewart and 6-5 center Stefanie Dolson. Stewart the national Player of the Year, finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Dolson was a force of nature too, contributing 17 points, 16 rebounds seven assists and three blocks. Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis, the best deep shooter in the women's game, added 18 points and seven rebounds.
UConn, which scored 52 points in the paint, took an early 22-8 lead with a 16-0 run, with every point coming inside, and never looked back, limiting the normally sharp-shooting Irish to just 22-of-62 from the field in a display of total domination.
“I said something like, ‘I thought we were playing the Miami Heat for a while you guys are just that good.’ What a great season,” Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw said. “I thought LeBron was the only thing they were missing.”
This is the closest thing America has to a dynasty in pro or college athletics. "We know no one wants to see us win, so we're going to win this anyway,'' said Dolson, the life of the party who also gave shoutouts to President Obama and Jimmy Fallon. Someone wants air time and a second straight return trip to the White House.
I get the fact that the men's and women's games are different, but has there ever been a more dominant coach in either than Auriemma, who has already broken Wooden's record for consecutive victories with 90? The 60-year-old Auriemma could coach anywhere, but he has no interest in coaching a men's team. He has found a formula for success at UConn and has discovered that the best players will gravitate to the modern day Wizard on a regular basis, which has to be good news for The American.
UConn was so good this year, there are actually comparisons being made between this team and the 2002 national championship team that featured Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi and Swin Cash as the greatest in women’s basketball.
This current UConn may not have the depth of 2002, but its starting five is arguably better, with Auriemma constantly pushing them to the limits of greatness.
The one topic Auriemma shies away from is the direct comparison to Wooden.
"There are no men's coaches telling anyone, ‘If i win eight or nine, I catch Geno Auriemma.’''