UConn’s Big East title a reflection of what Huskies have been and can continue to be in NCAA Tournament

Donovan Clingan holds Big East tournament championship trophy aloft after UConn reigned supreme at Madison Square Garden for first time since 2011. (Photo by UConn Men’s Basketball)

NEW YORK — Dan Hurley, normally one to downplay accomplishments due to his perpetually unsatisfied nature and inherent perfectionist demeanor, let his guard down Saturday.

Following his UConn team’s 31st victory in 34 attempts as it defends a national championship, the Huskies’ head coach took a moment for a rare acknowledgement of the latest milestone and hardware to occupy a spot inside the trophy cases residing in Storrs.

“These guys have done this with a huge target this year,” he said Saturday after UConn won its first Big East tournament championship since the magical 2011 run through Madison Square Garden that begat the program’s third national title. “We’ve gotten everyone’s best game the entire year, and for what this group has done this year, it’s been just a special, special season to this point.”

What makes this latest UConn triumph significant is the different stylings in which it was crafted. Against Xavier, the Huskies started sluggish, allowing the Musketeers to score the game’s first 10 points before finding a rhythm late in the first half and then going into overdrive after the intermission. In Friday’s semifinal against St. John’s, they won a shootout against a team that had been among the hottest in the country to that point, needing all of the 95 points amassed while facing the Red Storm’s defense. Finally, UConn used its defense on Saturday to fend Marquette off despite the Golden Eagles fighting valiantly to compete without point guard Tyler Kolek.

When asked how the versatility had become so profound, Hurley offered an honest, insightful answer, tipping his hat along the way to the culture he and his staff have not only implemented, but have made an even bigger point of emphasis to sustain.

“There’s just not a lot of holes in the way that we play,” he said. “We’ve got great offense, we rebound the ball, we’re an elite defensive team, and we’re deep with NBA players that are unselfish and about winning.”

“I think we’ve got a real culture, and it starts with the way we recruit people, how honest we are about what we stand for. We stand for how hard we work, how we’re about winning, the personal development as men. We run an old-school program with a real culture.”

Hurley’s roster not only embodies a blue-collar mentality in how it conducts its business on the floor, but the culture he highlighted is also prevalent in the fact that in the era of the transfer portal and NIL opportunities abound, only six UConn players have left the program for something other than professional careers since the Huskies rejoined the Big East in 2020.

The continuity — which has seen Donovan Clingan stay the course and embrace beginning his career as an understudy to Adama Sanogo, and other younger players such as Samson Johnson, Jaylin Stewart and Solo Ball bide their time behind veteran players from whom they learn the ropes — has been the most integral part of the program’s resurgence. To call it a rebuild would be something of a misnomer, as the foundation had already been in place.

Saturday’s victory also offered the specter of another accolade, the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, something that became possible when both Houston and Purdue lost in their respective conference tournaments, allowing the Huskies to push through the proverbial door. Hurley was initially noncommittal about that feather in UConn’s cap, but ultimately deferred again to recognizing the magnitude of where his players have worked to place themselves and the team.

“We’ve done a lot of historic things,” he conceded. “I know we’ve never gotten a No. 1 overall seed in program history, so this is a group that seems to be making history in a place that’s hard to make history. What we did in the non-conference, what we did in the regular season, then what we just did in the conference tournament, I think, is the best that anyone’s done through those three parts of the season.”

“We’ve been the best team in college basketball. Obviously with March Madness next week, who knows what goes on there, but we’ve clearly been the best program in the country this year.”