NCAA Basketball: Top 25 NCAA Tournament cinderellas since 2000
By Adam Childs
15) 2014 UConn Huskies, No. 7-seed
Record: 32-8, National Champion
Beat: (10) Saint Joseph’s Hawks, (2) Villanova Wildcats, (3) Iowa State Cyclones, (4) Michigan State Spartans, (1) Florida Gators, (8) Kentucky Wildcats
The UConn Huskies were banned from postseason play in 2013. They had five key players leave the program. Longtime head coach Jim Calhoun had left the program two years prior with health problems. UConn wasn’t supposed to do what they did in the 2014 NCAA Tournament, but the Huskies would be the last one standing, cementing their legacy as a cinderella story.
The Huskies are the first national champion to make it on this list and they will do it twice. They would finish the 2013-14 regular season at 26-8, but after a loss to the Louisville Cardinals in the AAC Tournament, they would only get a No. 7-seed in The Big Dance. Even with their good record, UConn seemed to not be getting much respect from the committee and others around the nation.
Led by second-year head coach Kevin Ollie and senior guard Shabazz Napier, the Huskies would make a run that few would see coming when the tournament started.
There were similarities to the UConn team that won it all in 2011 (more on them later), as Napier looked a lot like Kemba Walker. Many thought Napier had the potential to get hot and carry this team, but even then, not much was expected of the Huskies.
The tournament didn’t start great for the Huskies, as they needed overtime to get by the No. 10-seed Saint Joseph’s Hawks. It was not a great beginning to what would become a magical run, but it was a start and Napier was just starting to find his postseason rhythm. He would average just over 21 points per game in the tournament, including four 20-point games. He got hot at the right time and the Huskies rolled with it.
They would beat the Villanova Wildcats by 12 and the Iowa State Cyclones by five before dispatching the No. 4-seed Michigan State Spartans by six to make it to the Final Four. The Florida Gators would put up little resistance in the National Semifinal, as the Huskies won by 10.
It would set up a national title game against the Kentucky Wildcats, who were a No. 8-seed. Two surprise teams made the final, but it was one dominated by UConn. The Huskies would never trail, Napier would pour in 22 points to help UConn to a national title. This is a great ending to a story that started off on a sour note.