The University of Connecticut Huskies are your 2014 NCAA Tournament champions after defeating the freshman-heavy Kentucky Wildcats, 60-54, never having trailed for the duration of the 40-minute affair. Senior Shabazz Napier was his usual brilliant self, scoring 22, grabbing six rebounds (tied for the team high) and dishing three dimes while his fellow guard Ryan Boatright scored 14 more as the Huskies cruised for an unthinkable national title after coming into the Tournament as a No. 7 seed.
Shabazz was 8-for-16 for his game-high 22 points, and the Huskies survived an attempted comeback by Kentucky in the game’s final 10 minutes to claim the win. Napier was named the 2014 NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
After being handed the mic following the win, Napier told the crowd, “This is what happens when you ban us…” referring to the NCAA’s determination to ban them from the NCAA Tournament last year after a poor academic record of their “student athletes.”
Imma just hand @Drake a business card and say… We Made It pic.twitter.com/YMYalWClmx
— UConn Men's Hoops (@UConnMBB) April 8, 2014
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Here’s winning coach Kevin Ollie, Napier and Boatright after the win:
Here’s Napier before he ended his career as a national champion:
Congrats to senior Napier, coach Ollie, Boatright and the rest of the “Hungry Huskies.”
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