Jude Magnotti ‘26
EE Sports Columnist
1972 UCLA, 1982 North Carolina, 1992 Duke. These are just some of the greatest college basketball teams to ever walk the face of the earth. However, things have changed, and there’s a new kid on the block who just inserted himself into the conversation like it was nobody’s business. Of course ladies and gentlemen, I am talking about the 2024 UConn Huskies.
With their sixth national title win over Purdue this past Monday (and second title win in a row), speculation has emerged amongst fans as to whether or not this 2024 men’s squad could qualify as the greatest team in college basketball history.
To understand the Huskies recent dominance over the collegiate basketball world, we must first understand the background behind the Huskies’ illustrious basketball program. For starters, it is a well known fact that as phenomenal as UConn’s men’s team is, their women’s team is even better.
Long considered one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports, the UConn women’s basketball team has almost completely overshadowed anything to ever come out of Connecticut (which is not hard to do, but still).
With eleven national titles and six final four appearances in the past 7 years, other programs have long been puzzled by the complete and utter dominance that the UCONN women’s team has had over the competition. Unfortunately for those programs, their UConn problem just got even worse.
As previously mentioned, not only has the UConn men’s program just claimed its 6th national title, but it without a doubt has established itself and its culture as one of the most dominant collegiate programs in sports history. Stepping out of the shadow of the women’s team may not have been an easy thing to do, but with this back-to-back win, UConn has taken a monumental step towards establishing a name for itself outside its women’s program. So much, in fact, that the discussion of “greatest team of all time” has to be warranted.
Taking a look at pure talent alone, it is obvious that UConn has multiple NBA-ready players. 7 ‘2″ center, Donovan Clingan, and explosive guard, Stephon Castle, both played vital parts in UConn’s championship run and both are set up for long and illustrious careers in the NBA.
Additionally, UConn has several other potential draftees such as Alex Karaban, Cam Spencer, and Tristan Newtown. Now, how we look back on these players in the future could change based on how they play in the NBA (if they even make it at all). However, as of right now, UConn 100% has the pure talent to compete with any roster in the discussion for “Greatest College Basketball team Ever”.
Roster construction however is not the only thing we must consider when looking at the criteria of greatness. How UConn played in the tournament itself (and the teams they played against) can be a deciding factor when comparing them to teams of the past. For starters, it would be an understatement to claim that UConn was anything but completely dominant against every team it faced in the tournament.
They figuratively steamrolled their way through every team they met, winning each contest by at least 23.3 points: The highest margin of victory in NCAA history.
The competition they went up against throughout the tournament was no joke as well. Zach Edey looked like a kindergartner playing against an 8th grader vs. UConn and teams that were viewed as powerhouses such as Alabama, Illinois, and San Diego St., all crumbled to the might of The Huskies.
To add insult to injury, UConn only trailed for six minutes the entire tournament! They were in control the entire time, and once they seized it in each of their games, they never let it go.
To add the cherry on top of what was a historically dominant run, they became the first repeat champions since Al Horford and Joakim Noah in 2006 and 2007.
Based on these statistics and metrics alone, some of you may believe that this is already an open and shut case in favor of UConn. Well, unfortunately for all the Husky lovers out there, I am here to tell you that it’s not. Despite the historic dominance of UConn this season, I believe there is one key factor that holds them back from having the leg up on other historic teams –talent.
As previously mentioned, UConn has several NBA-ready players. However, these players to me just don’t have the same potential going into the NBA as other players had from teams such as 2018 Villanova or 2015 Duke.
I believe Clingan and Castle both have role players to potential star potential, but none of them have superstar potential like Jalen Brunson from Villanova in 2018.
This team may be appealing now, but when we look back in the future, I think it will be clear that this team just does not stack up to its competitors on a talent scale. Still, the Huskies’ season this year has, without a doubt, been a crowning achievement in their programs as well as in sports history. Not only have they stepped out of the shadow of their women’s team, they have proved the doubters wrong time and time again. And around this time next year, they’ll be back to remind everyone that March is HUSKY season.
Photo Credit: David J. Phillip (Associated Press)