It’s been quite the year for UConn sports fans this athletic year as the entire fanbase was treated to countless moments. From the UConn women’s hockey team grabbing their first Hockey East Championship in program history to the UConn men’s basketball team going back-to-back in the national championship, there was plenty to write about in Storrs. For our final Daily Campus Roundtable of the year, our writers decided to give their takes on their favorite UConn sports moment of the year.
Women’s basketball second-round win over Syracuse
(Stratton Stave/Sports Editor) – One of the most special things about women’s college basketball is the fact that the first two rounds are hosted by each of the top 16 teams. There’s something about the home court advantage and the buzz from the students that just makes those games, especially the Round of 32, extra magical. This year’s opponent was Syracuse, a gritty 6-seed with one of the best guards in the country, Dyaisha Fair. With 10,000 strong in Gampel Pavilion behind them, Connecticut used a dagger 3-pointer from freshman KK Arnold to earn a bid to the Sweet 16. Along with Arnold’s clutch shot, the Huskies also enjoyed a tremendous game from All-America selection Paige Bueckers. She scored 32 points and dished out six assists on national television, showing the country that she’s back and better than ever. It was the final home game for the Huskies in what ended up being a bit of a surprise Final Four campaign.
UConn vs. Illinois 30-point run
(Tyler Pruneau/ Campus Correspondent) – One of the best moments this year across UConn sports was by far the 30-point run the UConn men’s basketball team had over Illinois during their Elite Eight game in the March Madness tournament. After the program lost key players to the NBA Draft like Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins and Andre Jackson Jr., people had their speculations that the team would not be as good as they were the previous year. To add to that, in the beginning of the season players like Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle were hurt and influenced those speculations even more. The reason why the 30-point run was so special was because it is something that doesn’t happen every game. The men’s team made it clear that they were that same dominant team that they were last year. Not only did they have that run, but they also won the game by 25 points after it was said that Illinois could be the first team in the tournament to actually challenge them.
UConn women’s hockey wins their first Hockey East championship
(Cole Stefan/Senior Columnist) – This could easily be a basketball-specific roundtable, but can we take a minute to appreciate the success that occurred on the ice? The UConn women’s hockey team finished first in the Hockey East Conference for the first time ever with a 19-4-4 record and 61 points. Junior goaltenders Tia Chan and Megan Warrener were both the team’s backbone as they each recorded a .951 save percentage and spearheaded the top goalie tandem in the country. Warrener’s 1.01 goals against average in 14 games led the entire nation. I attended the Huskies’ quarterfinal matchup against the Holy Cross Crusaders in early March. Little did I know it was the start of a postseason run that ended with Connecticut capturing their first-ever Hockey East Tournament title over the Northeastern Huskies. A banner will be flying at the Toscano Family Ice Forum next season. It will belong to National Coach of the Year Chris MacKenzie and a UConn squad that got to participate in their first NCAA Tournament.
Winning the 2024 Big East Tournament trophy
(Evan Rodriguez/Associate Sports Editor) -While coach Dan Hurley earned a second illustrious NCAA title to add to his resume, one of the biggest things that this program has been looking for has been a Big East Tournament trophy. To emphasize how much this accomplishment means to the program, a cutout of the trophy was displayed during practices leading up to the Tournament. Up until 2024, it’s evaded the team since 2011, but with their relocation back to the Big East in 2020-21 season, they had the opportunity to bring the trophy back to Storrs. With another deadly squad for Hurley and company plus a firmly secured conference title, the team electrified Madison Square Garden again. The program collected wins over Xavier, St. John’s and Marquette to hoist the gold in front of the Storrs North faithful and ultimately add another momentous accomplishment to a year full of Husky greatness.
Going back-to-back to tie North Carolina for third-most in NCAA men’s basketball history
(Sam Calhoun/Staff Writer) – The UConn men’s basketball team now has six national championships (1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, 2023, 2024) and became the first school to win back-to-back national championships since Billy Donovan’s Florida Gators completed the feat in 2006 and 2007. It’s also fun to say that the Huskies have not lost an NCAA Tournament game since I started college and only lost one non-conference game (at Kansas in December). What I like most about winning this national championship is the fact that fans and the media took all four teams in the Final Four seriously. Purdue had a shot at the national title and Alabama had one of the best offenses in the country. Last year’s Final Four had no major basketball names outside UConn: San Diego State, Florida Atlantic and Miami (Fla.). To see how dominant this team was all year was special and something all UConn fans should cherish for the rest of their lives.
WHUS sports broadcasts and ESPN College Game Day
(Patrick Boots/Sports Broadcasting Correspondent) -One of my favorite sports memories this year was being a part of the WHUS broadcast team. As the engineer, it was my responsibility to ensure remote equipment was connected to all of you at home. WHUS crews traveled to Boston, Cleveland, Portland and Phoenix to cover both basketball teams — sometimes within minutes. In the studio I cued up music and moments of UConn history, like our first women’s championship in 1995, “The Shot” from the Hartford Civic Center and more. We assembled some students to host a postgame show, and The Daily Campus was by our side with important updates. Another fun experience was when ESPN hosted their College Game Day special here on campus — when else can students bring so much electricity? We brought the house down! The team made half-court shots and played other games, we got some, er, moments from Dan Hurley and afterward enjoyed a great game (not to mention a great rest of the season for both the men and women!).