Is Uconn the worst/most surprising team to ever win the title?

[Jasoncuse]

Great guard play. That's what it takes.

Yeah, it was different to watch a team with multiple guys who could get their own shot and hit some jumpers. The rest of the team, though, meh.

 

[gilardino]

not the best in the northeast the best in the college basketball the last 15 years

 

[Col. Bleep]

Boeheim said it all season: no dominant team, a number of very good teams.
U Conn was one and they got better at the end.
They deserve credit...not withstanding the fact that I don't care for them.

Truth is, they are an elite program now.
In terms of basketball, The ACC would be much better with them.

 

[Cuseman78]

They won a 3 week tourney. No more, no less. The season bore out that they were a borderline top 20 team. And yet they are crowned as national champions.

Another reason why college football is a superior product. The regular season actually means something. Means absolutely zilch in CBB. Proven again this year.

 

[bevosu]

They won a 3 week tourney. No more, no less. The season bore out that they were a borderline top 20 team. And yet they are crowned as national champions.

Another reason why college football is a superior product. The regular season actually means something. Means absolutely zilch in CBB. Proven again this year.

Well I guess we should send back the 2003 trophy.

It is what it is.

 

[Cuseman78]

Well I guess we should send back the 2003 trophy.

It is what it is.

Well in 2003 we were one of the 10 best teams. That I can deal with. But a team who lost to Houston just won the national title. Very unfortunate that this sport continues to be defined by a 3 week tourney.

 

[Digger]

That I've seen? Congrats on an incredible run, but, unequivocally, yes and yes.

The only other team that comes close for me is...2011 UConn.

 

[Budley]

Let's face it, UConn has developed a culture of winning, of expecting to be there at the end. They did what they had to do to come together as a team, whether it was making crucial shots when they counted or making 98% of their foul shots. We, on the other hand, do not expect to win, we play down (and, to be fair, often up) to the level of our competition. UConn will win both the men's and women's titles in the same year AGAIN. And for Ollie to do it in his 2nd year, yikes!

They had passion, from the top down.

 

[Scotch]

Let's face it, UConn has developed a culture of winning, of expecting to be there at the end. They did what they had to do to come together as a team, whether it was making crucial shots when they counted or making 98% of their foul shots. We, on the other hand, do not expect to win, we play down (and, to be fair, often up) to the level of our competition. UConn will win both the men's and women's titles in the same year AGAIN. And for Ollie to do it in his 2nd year, yikes!

They had passion, from the top down.

Take it easy, they were lucky to beat St. Joe's. We made the final four last year. Congratulate them on their run but don't go crazy with the "culture" theories.

 

[We Are Syracuse]

heck no... UCONN has the best player in the tournament, Another amazing guard, both are seniors, Daniels emerged to be amazing, and they had some depth and role players who just simply made plays. No one guarded better than UCONN.. They won it deservedly... PS I CANNOT STAND UCONN

 

[obliterata]

They're a surprising champion for sure though I did have them in my Final Four losing to...SU. I would say NC St, Nova, and maybe Indiana were worse.

 

[two3zone]

Well in 2003 we were one of the 10 best teams. That I can deal with. But a team who lost to Houston by 25 just won the national title. Very unfortunate that this sport continues to be defined by a 3 week tourney.

Lost to Houston by 25 but beat Florida in the regular season and in the tournament. That counts for something.

 

[kirbivore]

They won a 3 week tourney. No more, no less. The season bore out that they were a borderline top 20 team. And yet they are crowned as national champions.

Another reason why college football is a superior product. The regular season actually means something. Means absolutely zilch in CBB. Proven again this year.

That college football regular season argument took a hit the last couple of years when Alabama was allowed do overs in 2 of the title seasons.

 

[kirbivore]

wack pack member beetlejuice from the Stern show sums up my reaction to another storz title

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEi_tzKkqxc

 

[SoBeCuse]

What really? Nova was the most overrated two seed in recent memory, Isu was without their best player, Msu, and Fla I will give you, but Uk was an 8 seed at the end of the day, and Uconn got ever call in that game tonight.

Better sleep this one off dude. Too many sour grapes is never a good thing. They earned it. If UK makes their FTs then you would have nothing to whine about, at least from a UConn angle.

 

[Cowtown]

Actually I think Villanova '85 was extremely lucky. I mean didn't they shoot something like 80% from the floor that game? Also UConn's win in 2011 was pretty lucky as well - they were what, 15-15 before the BET? If they don't win that, they don't get in.

 

[domestu]

People can knock UConn as much as they want but they are not even in the running for the worst or most surprising team to win the NCAA Tournament. This was a good team led by a 1st team All-American that was ranked in the polls most of the season.

North Carolina State wouldn't even have been in the NCAA's in 1983 if they hadn't won the ACC Tournament with a series of last second victories.

 

[Digger]

Kenpom only goes back to 2003, but his objective, statistical based ranking has this UConn team as the 2nd lowest rated championship team (within their respective seasons) in that timeframe (after tonight's game, kenpom has UConn ranked as the 8th "best" team of 2013/2014).

The lowest ranked championship team?...2011 UConn (ended up ranked 9th overall).

Ultimately meaningless? Probably, but relevant to this thread.

 

[sufandu]

They won a 3 week tourney. No more, no less. The season bore out that they were a borderline top 20 team. And yet they are crowned as national champions.

Another reason why college football is a superior product. The regular season actually means something. Means absolutely zilch in CBB. Proven again this year.

The regular season is not meaningless. There are nearly 300 teams that don't get an opportunity to play for a NC every year. I prefer that a team have the opportunity to actually grow and improve as the season progresses, something the football format doesn't really allow for. It may not be perfect, but no system is. At least it's decided on the court.

 

[BuffOrange]

Thank god you're only giving him Florida and msu- two of the absolute tourney favorites coached by izzo and donovan.

And Nieng isn't even ISU's 2nd best player.

 

[orangenirvana]

UConn was the best team in the nation this season. Who cares about comparing them to past national champions? They got it done.

 

[Cuseman78]

That college football regular season argument took a hit the last couple of years when Alabama was allowed do overs in 2 of the title seasons.

Bama was one of the best 3 teams in the country. Thats all I ask is that the champion be "one of the best". There is no mistaking that in CFB, one of the best teams in the country always wins the national title. Thats the way it should be, IMO. A fringe top 25 teams with blow-out losses to Houston shouldn't be cutting down nets. The regular season is absolutely meaningless otherwise. Complete opposite in CFB

 

[Cuseman78]

Lost to Houston by 25 but beat Florida in the regular season and in the tournament. That counts for something.

They were not the best team in the country. I think thats the whole point. They were a team that plodded through the regular season, finished 4th in their league, had some terrible losses, and got hot for 3 weeks. I want the champion of any sport I watch to at least be one of the best teams. That wasn't the case this year.

 

[Cuseman78]

The regular season is not meaningless. There are nearly 300 teams that don't get an opportunity to play for a NC every year. I that a team have the opportunity to actually grow and improve as the season progresses, something the football format doesn't really allow for. It may not be perfect, but no system is. At least it's decided on the court.

Utter nonsense. Its decided by a random 3 week tourney. You can slog your way through a season (as Uconn did) and just get hot at the right time. The tourney is a great spectacle, but it certainly doesn't always crown one of the best teams. That happened to be the case this year.

I know it sounds like sour grapes (and certainly I don't like that it was Uconn who did it), but personally I want the champion crowned in any sport I follow to at least be one of the best teams throughout the course of the year. Probably why I'm more partial to college football and the EPL. Every single stinking game means something in those sports. A Saturday showdown in December with Nova at the Dome? Means zippo in the grand scheme of things.

 

[orangenirvana]

They were not the best team in the country. I think thats the whole point. They were a team that plodded through the regular season, finished 4th in their league, had some terrible losses, and got hot for 3 weeks. I want the champion of any sport I watch to at least be one of the best teams. That wasn't the case this year.

If you saw UConn play over the last few weeks and didn't think they were "one of the best teams" then you simply don't know what you're watching.