There is no way the rest
of the world could ever understand the American love of basketball and the
frenzy of March madness. This year has
seemed to stimulate a revival of interest in the passion in both the men's and
women's national championships, an increase in game attendance and higher TV
ratings.
So many fascinating plots
swirl around the contenders it would take a couple of television network series
to even begin to scratch the surface.
Tonight the Kentucky
Wildcats take on the U Conn Huskies in the men's championship, two of the most
familiar names in men's basketball meeting in the most unlikely of places, the
national championship. Just last year
neither team was even invited to the NCAA tourney.
They play in the A T&T
Stadium in Arlington , Texas and there will be an astounding 80,000
frenetic fans at the game joining the millions on television as the season long
drama reaches it's climax.
Tomorrow night the Notre
Dame Fighting Irish square off against, you guessed it, the U Conn Huskies for
the women's championship. What is it
with the U Conn name popping up? Not far
from the northern Texas men's site the women
are in Nashville , Tennessee at the Music City Center
Bridgestone Arena where 20,000 people will be in attendance.
Now these two teams who
used to share the same conference are now in different conferences and like a Hollywood blockbuster, U Conn has won 39 games and lost
none while Notre Dame has won 38 games and lost none. Between the two they have won 77 games and
lost ZERO this season.
The Men
Coaches:
U Conn - Kevin Ollie
In the last 18 years these
two teams have won 6 national championships and have been to the final four so
many times I forgot. Kentucky has won more games than any other
team in college basketball history.
Now for the plots, sub-plots
and just plain bizarre facts.
Neither team was invited
to the NCAA playoffs last year.
U Conn won in 2011.
U Conn began the year
unranked and finished ranked number 18.
U Conn was seeded 7 meaning
it was considered one of the top 28 teams in the nation.
The U Conn men won
national championships in 1999, 2004 and 2011.
[UCLA won ten titles the
11 years between 1964 and 1975, and again in 1995.]
U Conn has one of the most
successful basketball programs (men and women) in the nation since 1995.
Most wins, 2138 in
history.
Highest winning percentage
in history.
Most NCAA tournament appearances
(53) in history.
Most NCAA tournament wins
(117) in history.
Second in national titles (8)
to UCLA (11).
Ten years ago, 2004, U
Conn became the first school in history to win the men's and women's titles the
same year.
U Conn had teams in both
finals four different times, with both winning just once.
This year the 8 and 7
seeds are the highest total (15) in modern history.
John Calipari is a legend
himself having taken 3 different teams to the NCAA Final Four, and UK alone to
three Final Fours.
Calipari has won 20 games
20 times and 30 games 8 times in his career.
The Women
Coaches:
U Conn - Gene Auriemmce
Notre Dame - Muffet McGraw
U Conn and Notre Dame were
ranked number 1 and 2 all season.
U Conn 39-0 and Notre Dame
38-0 are first unbeaten teams to meet in national championship.
U Conn going for 9th
national championship, most in history.
U Conn is the defending
national champion.
U Conn and Notre Dame were
in last years' Final Four.
U Conn had the longest
winning streak in college basketball, 90 games.
U Conn has won 8 national championships
and been in 15 Final Fours.
Gene Auriemmce is tied
with Pat Summit of Tennessee
for most women's championships, 8 and is just two behind John Wooden of UCLA (10)
for most in men's and women's basketball.
This is the 5th time U
Conn, under Gene Aurimmce, could finish unbeaten and he lost 1 once three
years.
McGraw has led Notre Dame
to 6 Final Four appearances.
Notre Dame has won 1 national
championship in 2001.
Under McGraw Notre Dame
has been in 7 of the past 12 Sweet 16s.
Also under McGraw Notre
has been in 16 NCAA tournaments including 14 straight.
So you get the drift. For the next day and a half politics and
world affairs will take a back seat to March Madness as we come to the
conclusion of a simply spectacular season in both men's and women's basketball.
The legends are coaching,
the amazing pedigrees of the various programs are blue blood through and
through, and no matter what happens history will be made, dreams will be
fulfilled, and other dreams will be shattered.
Can the kiddie corp of Kentucky prevail over U
Conn? Which giant will be left standing
in the woman's final? Can Kentucky 's Aaron
Harrison nail an impossible 3 pointer and win his fourth straight tournament
game in the last seconds?
Hang on folks and don't
miss either one of the cliff hanger stories for you will be reading about them
in the history books from now on.
.
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