The University of Connecticut defeated San Diego State Monday to win the 2023 NCAA men’s college basketball game tournament. It had a dominating betting run, cover the point propagate inward every gritty during “March Madness.”
UConn, with the #4 seed, embarked on an impressive process to the championship. Even terrible hotel accommodations inward Las Vegas didn’t slow down UConn down. The Huskies went a perfect 6-0 against the spreading nut route to UConn’s fifth national title since 1999.
Legendary chief train Jim Calhoun ab initio lay UConn on the map inwards the 1990s during their ascension to prominence in the Big East. Calhoun led UConn to its for the first time championship inwards 1999. He’d win 2 more titles in 2004 and 2011.
Kevin Ollie, a former UConn player and help coach, succeeded Calhoun after he retired in 2012. Under Ollie’s tenure, UConn won a 4th championship in 2014.
Dan Hurley took o'er the program after Ollie stepped land inward 2018. In his fifth flavour with the Huskies, Hurley delivered a fifth championship for UConn.
Up and Down Season, Big Orient Doldrums
UConn felt disrespected inward the preseason. They were neglected by every major polling entity and weren’t included inward the AP Men’s College Basketball Top 25 Poll. Hurley and the Huskies took umbrage at the slight.
UConn responded with a 14-game winning run to bulge the season. They picked away Alabama, who was ranked #18 at the time. They eventually entered the AP Poll and, within two weeks, jibe upwardly from #20 to #5. Shortly after Christmas, UConn was ranked #2 inwards the country. That’s when the harden began going sour the rails.
UConn lost a tough route gamey against Xavier, ranked #22 at the time, on New Year’s Eve. It pronounced the start of a 1-5 skid, and they tumbled to #19 inward the AP Poll.
UConn had a rematch against Saint Francis Xavier on their home sward at the finish of January. The Huskies missed to Xavier a endorse clip in a soul-crushing, 3-point loss. UConn slipped to 16-6 on the season, including 5-6 inwards Big Orient conference play. They nearly dropped out of the Top 25 but held on at #24.
UConn finished the regular flavor on a warm annotation with an 8-1 stretch. With a 24-7 record, UConn clawed rear upwards to #11 inward the last-place poll parrot during the steady season. They missed to Marquette, ranked #6 inward the country, by 2 points inwards the Big East conference tournament semifinals. Despite the dissatisfactory get out inwards the Big Orient tourney, UConn earned a #4 seed inwards the NCAA tournament.
UConn Unstoppable 6-0 ATS
Heading into March Madness, UConn’s lastly ternion losses were snug affairs against ranked Big eastern United States teams. They lost to Saint Francis Xavier past trine points, missed to Creighton by tercet points, and lost to Pere Jacques Marquette past two points.
We knew we should’ve won those games with a few tweaks hither and at that place and fewer turnovers,” said Hurley. “I had trust inward my guys. They just had to go out and execute.”
Once the tournament began, the Huskies went berserk.
UConn was a -9.5 favourite against #13 Iona inward the gap fill out and won by 24 points inward a spirited inwards which legion(p) so-called experts picked Iona to notch the upset.
Heading into the indorsement round, UConn was a -3.5 favourite against #5 St. Mary’s and won by 15 points.
In the Sweet 16, UConn steamrolled #8 Arkansas by 23 points, still though they were the betting favourite past just -3.5 points.
In a highly awaited(p) meeting against #3 Gonzaga inward the Elite 8, UConn was a cold-shoulder favourite at -2.5. UConn destroyed Gonzaga in a 28-point drubbing.
When UConn squared off against #5 Miami inward the Final Four, they easily covered the -5.5 spread with a 13-point victory.
UConn was a -7.5 favourite against #5 San Diego State in the title game. UConn led past treble digits at halftime, withstood a second-half rallying against the Aztecs, who emasculated the deficit to fin points. UConn smoke-dried San Diego inwards the final fin transactions and won past 17 points.
For a sixth-straight Mar Madness game, UConn covered the distribute and finished their championship bleed with a hone 6-0 ATS betting record. Their average security deposit of triumph was 20 points, and they won every biz past at to the lowest degree 13 points.
UConn ruined the entire flavor with a 31-8 overall enter and a 27-11-1 ATS record.
2024 Mar Madness Odds: UConn +1400
Before the 2022-23 flavour began, unranked UConn was +6600 odds to win the NCAA tournament. When the tournament began, UConn was +1600 betting odds to win the championship. By the clip they reached the Final Four, the Huskies were the outright betting favorite to win the national rubric at -125 odds.
Oddsmakers didn’t dissipation any time before they opened up the betting marketplace for next year’s men’s college basketball game championship. Duke and Kentucky, gloomy blood programs and repeated favorites, were at the upper side of DraftKings’ 2024 futures board. Duke opened as the consensus favorite at +1000, and Kentucky was sec at +1200.
UConn was thirdly boilersuit at +1400 betting odds to win inwards consecutive seasons in 2024. Pere Jacques Marquette and Sunflower State are both +1600 odds, and they rounded out the top side V teams on the futures board.
It’s difficult to win sequent college basketball championships during the modern era. Hurley is the type of four-in-hand who loves a challenge—the last clip a college hoops squad won sequent titles occurred inward 2006 and 2007 when Billy Donovan led the Sunshine State Gators to consecutive titles.
Aside from that magical bleed 15 years ago, you hold to go away back 30-plus years to when Coach k guided Duke to subject championships in 1991 and 1992. Hurley’s older brother, Bobby Hurley, was the starting head safety device on those championship squads from Duke.