2014 NCAA National Champion UConn Huskies Men's Basketball team returns to Connecticut (13726355004) (1)

The 2013–14 UConn Huskies men's basketball team represented the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

in the 2013–2014

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

basketball season. The Huskies were led by second-year head coach

Kevin Ollie Kevin Jermaine Ollie (born December 27, 1972) is an American basketball coach and former player. Kevin is the head coach for Overtime Elite, a professional basketball league co-founded by Dan Porter and Zack Weiner for top players between 16 and ...

. The Huskies split their home games between the

XL Center The XL Center (originally known as the Hartford Civic Center) is a multi-purpose arena and convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut. Owned by the City of Hartford, it is managed by the quasi-public Capital Region Development ...

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, and the

Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Harry A. Gampel Pavilion is a 10,167-seat multi-purpose arena in Storrs, Connecticut, United States, on the campus of the University of Connecticut (UConn). The arena opened on January 21, 1990, and is the largest on-campus arena in New England. ...

on the UConn campus in

Storrs, Connecticut Storrs is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Mansfield, Connecticut, Mansfield in eastern Tolland County, Connecticut, Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 15,344 at the 2010 Unite ...

. The Huskies were members of the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

. One year after being banned from postseason play for sanctions, the Huskies returned to the Final Four, where they defeated the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

in the national semifinal round and the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

in the 2014 National Championship Game.

Shabazz Napier Shabazz Bozie Napier (born July 14, 1991) is a Puerto Rican professional basketball player for Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He was drafted 24th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2014 NBA draf ...

was named the tournament's MOP. The next day, the UConn Huskies women's team won the women's NCAA basketball tournament, only the second time that a school has won both the men's and women's Division I national basketball championships in the same year; UConn first accomplished this in 2004.

Previous season

The Huskies finished the 2012–13 season with a record of 20-10 overall, including 10–8 in Big East play. However, due to sanctions resulting in penalties stemming from years of very poor APR ratings, the Huskies were ineligible for all the postseason tournaments, including the

2013 Big East men's basketball tournament The 2013 Big East men's basketball tournament, officially known as the 2013 Big East Championship, was the 34th annual Big East men's basketball tournament, deciding the champion of the 2012–13 Big East Conference men's basketball season. For t ...

, the NCAA tournament and the NIT.

Preseason outlook

The Huskies were selected to finish 2nd in their new conference, the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Coach Kevin Ollie would serve his second season with key players

Ryan Boatright Ryan Jamar Boatright (born December 27, 1992) is an American-born naturalized Armenian professional basketball player for BC Avtodor, Avtodor Saratov of the VTB United League. He also represents the Armenian national basketball team. He completed ...

DeAndre Daniels DeAndre Martise Daniels (born April 15, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Townsville Heat of the NBL1 North. He played college basketball for the UConn Huskies, where he won a national championship and made the NCAA Fina ...

, and Omar Calhoun returned. The Huskies were ranked 17th in the preseason AP poll.

Departures

Roster

Schedule

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Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2013-14 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team UConn Huskies men's basketball seasons

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons 2013 in sports in Connecticut 2014 in sports in Connecticut