For the first time in nearly 20 years, college basketball has a repeat champion as the UConn Huskies took down the Purdue Boilermakers, 75-60, on Monday night.
The victory made it so that UConn head coach Dan Hurley is just one of two active coaches with multiple national championships to his name, joining Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self.
Much like last season, the Huskies breezed through March Madness. UConn won all six games by double-digits again, and trailed for just six total minutes in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, never in the second half. In fact, UConn’s last second-half NCAA Tournament deficit came back in the Second Round of the 2023 Tournament, when the St. Mary’s Gaels took a 38-37 lead, which the Huskies promptly came back from, cruising to a 70-55 victory.
All of this is to say that UConn has been running through teams like a freight train for the past couple of postseasons.
Tuesday morning on The Herd, Colin Cowherd likened Hurley’s team to ‘Oppenheimer,’ the 2023 box office smash that went on to capture seven Oscars.
"UConn is the movie Oppenheimer, a historic three-hour movie… And it swept through the awards."
— @ColinCowherd on Huskies capturing sixth NCAA title pic.twitter.com/n0Un81FOjH
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) April 9, 2024
“UConn is the movie “Oppenheimer,” Cowherd said, discussing the program’s culture and what has made it so successful. “A historic three-hour movie about the atom bomb, and it swept through the awards. “Barbie” was cute and fun. People dressed up silly. But the reality is UConn basketball is a serious program that attracts serious people to its program. Dan Hurley is perfect for that.”
While it’s unclear what Cowherd was comparing to “Barbie,” the original comparison makes some sense at least. The Huskies were undeniable all season, and, much like how “Oppenheimer” went into the Academy Awards as the clear favorite to win Best Picture, they would not be denied.
[The Herd]
