UConn has won back-to-back national championships. They’re the third program to accomplish the rare feat since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to 64 in 1985 (Duke in 1991 and 1992, Florida in 2006 and 2007).
In this edition of Sam’s Section, we’ll recap the incredible two-year run that UConn completed and compare them to the runs that Duke and Florida made.
UConn Huskies (back-to-back National Champions in 2023 and 2024)
The 2022-23 season was not supposed to be the magical run that the men’s team went on. The Huskies lost their starting backcourt in R.J. Cole and Tyrese Martin, their best defensive player in Isaiah Whaley and one of their best 3-point shooters in Tyler Polley. However, head coach Dan Hurley replaced those four with four transfer guards: East Carolina’s Tristen Newton, San Diego’s Joey Calcaterra, Virginia Tech’s Nahiem Alleyne and Texas A&M’s Hassan Diarra. Alongside that, they brought in four-star center Donovan Clingan and early-enrollee Alex Karaban. The Huskies began the season unranked in the AP Poll and lost starter Samson Johnson in the first game against Stonehill. However, the team came alive, knocking down Oregon, Alabama and Iowa State to win the Phil Knight Invitational and begin 8-0, skyrocketing them into the AP Top 10. After convincing wins over Oklahoma State and Florida, UConn began the season 11-0 without losing to a single non-conference opponent. January was brutal for the Huskies, losing five games and almost falling out of the AP Top 25. The Huskies finished the regular season on a five-game winning streak and secured the No. 4 seed in the Big East Tournament. After taking care of a scare against Providence, Connecticut could not get past the semifinal round again, losing to Marquette in a 2-point game. UConn won their last six games by double-digits and dominated the NCAA Tournament in a season where Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins and Andre Jackson played terrifically.
Despite losing three of their five starters from the 2022-23 season, this team did not see their ranking fall out of the AP Top 5 all season, thanks to a star-studded freshman class featuring Stephon Castle and grad transfer Cam Spencer. They won the Empire Classic with wins over Indiana and Texas and took down North Carolina and Gonzaga at neutral sites. Kansas was the team’s only non-conference loss of the season. After losing their Big East opener at Seton Hall, the Huskies went on a 14-game winning streak, including wins over Creighton and Marquette. Connecticut’s final loss of the 2023-24 season came in mid-February at Creighton. The Huskies won and swept the Big East titles. Tristen Newton was one of the best players in the country and joined Kemba Walker (2011) and Shabazz Napier (2014) as the only Huskies to win the Bob Cousy Award — which celebrates the nation’s best point guard. After earning the program’s first No. 1 overall seed ever, they destroyed everyone in their path, even a terrific Purdue team. Additionally, they beat three of the best offenses in the country — Illinois, Alabama and Purdue.
Duke Blue Devils (back-to-back National Champions in 1991 and 1992)
Duke was coming off a 30-point loss in the 1990 title game against UNLV and was ranked No. 6 in the country headed into the Preseason NIT. They won their first two games by double-digits but lost to Arkansas at Madison Square Garden. They would later lose at Georgetown. They also beat Notre Dame, Michigan, Oklahoma and LSU. The Blue Devils won the ACC regular season title, with the only conference losses coming at Virginia, NC State and Wake Forest. In a double overtime thriller, Duke lost at Arizona before beating North Carolina in Chapel Hill. However, the Tar Heels got revenge in the ACC Championship game. With seven losses coming into the NCAA Tournament, the No. 2 Blue Devils cruised past their first four opponents on their way to the Final Four, where they got their revenge against UNLV. They beat Kansas in the National Championship game, led by a trio of Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Thomas Hill.
Duke only lost Greg Koubek to graduation and were able to keep their core team, along with future Hall of Fame forward Grant Hill. They dominated for the first 17 games of the season, beating St. John’s, Michigan, Georgia Tech, UNC Charlotte and Florida State. In their first 17 games, only two of their wins were by single digits. The Blue Devils’ first loss of the season came in February at North Carolina. However, they picked up even more wins, including a road win against LSU. After a road loss to Wake Forest, Duke finished the season on a 13-game winning streak, including regular season wins over UCLA and North Carolina, winning the ACC Tournament and sweeping the NCAA Tournament, including an iconic shot by Laettner in the Elite Eight over Kentucky.
Florida Gators (back-to-back National Champions in 2006 and 2007)
Florida was red-hot to start the 2005-2006 season, coming out to a 17-0 start with wins over Wake Forest, Syracuse, Florida State, Providence and Miami. The Gators lost back-to-back games at Tennessee and South Carolina before going on a three-game winning streak and beating SEC rival Kentucky in a College Gameday environment. Florida got swept by South Carolina and Tennessee and lost three of the team’s last five regular-season games. They got past Arkansas, LSU and South Carolina en route to an SEC Tournament title and got to the Sweet Sixteen with ease. However, they had to fight to get past Georgetown but seemed to handle Villanova to advance to the Final Four. In their two games in Indianapolis, they dominated against George Mason and UCLA to win the team’s first national championship.
Like Duke, Florida retained its core team, which consisted of Corey Brewer, Al Horford and Joakim Noah. As the preseason No. 1, the Gators won their first six games, all to mid-major teams. The team’s first loss came in a neutral site battle against Kansas, and they would lose two games later at Florida State. After beginning the season 7-2, Billy Donovan’s squad rattled off 17 wins in a row, including a huge road win against Kentucky. Like the previous season, Florida didn’t finish the regular season triumphantly, losing three of the last five regular-season games. They won the SEC Tournament title again and stormed through the NCAA Tournament to secure back-to-back national titles.