If you cross the Massachusetts border into the state of Connecticut on Interstate 84, you will be greeted with a large blue sign that boldly declares: “Welcome to Connecticut: Home of the Basketball Capital of the World.”
It is a self-proclaimed title, bequeathed to the small farming town of Storrs, Connecticut, by legendary basketball commentator Dick Vitale during a particularly intense game in 1995. Since then, it has been worn as a badge of honor for fans and students of the University of Connecticut, and with 11 women’s titles and 6 men’s titles, it has surely staked its claim as the center of basketball university. universe in this century.
This year, the women’s team, led by presumed WNBA No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers, has led the charge in the 2024-25 season to further solidify that title. The men’s team? That wasn’t exactly the case until Wednesday night.
Three disastrous days on Maui saw the UConn Huskies lose three straight games to teams like Memphis, Colorado and Dayton. Questions immediately began to arise about the team as to whether the back-to-back national champions had the ability to continue the legacy this season. UConn fell from No. 2 to No. 25 in the country and put head coach Dan Hurley in the national spotlight for his behavior on the sideline.
On a frigid New England night, the Huskies entered the challenge of their non-conference schedule: a tough three-game stretch that began in their fortress, Gampel Pavilion, against No. 15 Baylor. After everything that happened to them the week before, they finally got their first significant win of the season with a 76-72 upset.
The scene inside Gampel Pavilion for the matchup between the UConn Huskies and the Baylor Bears. Pictured: A blue tifo that says “Basketball Capital of the World” inside the state outline.
Connecticut Huskies head coach Dan Hurley reacts in the first half against Baylor on Wednesday.
There aren’t many places in the country that can compete with Storrs for the title of “capital”: Durham, North Carolina, Bloomington, Indiana, Lawrence, Kansas, and Lexington, Kentucky might be the only ones that come close. But what this half-rural, half-college town tucked away in the ‘quiet corner’ of the state offers is a tradition of success in both men’s and women’s soccer that other cities don’t offer.
The UConn women’s team has won more titles than any other women’s program, part of a 40-year tenure led by head coach Geno Auriemma and his equally important assistant Chris Daley that has resulted in a host of conference crowns and eleven national championships.
The men’s team hasn’t won as many titles, but it has been the top program since the turn of the century. Six national titles in a 25-year span is more than any other school in that period.
But the clouds hung over UConn after its fourth national title in 2014. A tough stretch in the American Athletic Conference nearly undid all the momentum it had gained every year before. That ‘Basketball Capital of the World’ title may have been more ironic than the ‘Nutmeggers,’ as Connecticut residents are called, might have expected.
That all changed with Hurley’s arrival in 2018 and the school’s return to its ancestral home, the Big East Conference, in 2020. It culminated in a 2023 championship that marked a return to the national stage.
But after losing several starters, outsiders questioned Hurley’s statement that a repeat was necessary. However, the 2023-24 team was noticeably better than the last and is considered by statistics and experts to be one of the best teams assembled in the history of the sport. To top it off, they achieved their goal by becoming the first school in 17 years to repeat as champions.
The ‘Nutmeggers’ may have been right in thinking that considering everything Hurley did last season, a hat trick might be in order. All it took for that confidence to crumble was a disastrous trip to Hawaii in which the Huskies placed last at the Maui Invitational, losing to three unranked teams.
They fell in the standings at the worst possible time, before hosting Baylor, traveling to Austin to play Texas this weekend and then closing out their non-conference schedule against Gonzaga at Madison Square Garden next week.
Freshman Liam McNeeley (30) led the Huskies that night with 17 points and eight rebounds.
The first of those contests was Wednesday when Baylor came in with a roster without its best player, potential NBA lottery pick VJ Edgecombe. UConn couldn’t take advantage of its luck because they were also missing their best player and the only returning starter from last year’s team: forward Alex Karaban.
On Maui, defense was the Huskies’ downfall and Hurley highlighted it as the team’s biggest weakness. That was proven again when UConn fell 17-6 early in the contest. But shots started falling for Connecticut and they took the lead late in the first half when Hurley gestured to the 10,299 fans to make their voices known. At the half, Baylor had regained the lead by a single point.
At one point in the contest, Hurley let out some emotions after a strong play by transfer guard Aidan Mahaney, who had been struggling in his hail to Connecticut after previously playing at St. Mary’s in California. In a fit of jubilation, the coach and the player collided and shouted in each other’s faces. After the game, Hurley said Mahaney also gleefully hit him to the point that the coach feared he would “break a rib,” while comparing Mahaney’s play to a “phoenix.”
While the slew of NBA scouts who made the trip didn’t get to see Edgecombe or Karaban, they did get a glimpse of rookie phenom Liam McNeeley, a projected lottery pick who switched his commitment from Indiana to UConn over the summer. He left his mark on special moments. A three-pointer early in the second half sparked a run for Connecticut. When the Bears recovered, he scored another key basket to go up four with less than nine minutes left. When all was said and done, McNeeley led UConn with 17 points and eight rebounds.
McNeeley celebrates a shot in the second half against Baylor in Storrs, Connecticut
Jaylin Stewart (right) and Aidan Mahaney (left) celebrate UConn’s important victory
When the clock showed less than four minutes, the ‘Basketball Capital of the World’ stood up and stayed there for the rest of the game. In the final minute, the Huskies made crucial free throws that led to the victory that night.
After the win, Hurley repeatedly thanked the Gampel crowd after a victory that could be classified as a turning point in his season.
“It’s the first time we’ve beaten a quality opponent (this season)… they’ll be a team that will make a breakthrough in March and have a real shot at the Final Four,” Hurley said in response to a question from DailyMail.com . “To be able to gut one at home… obviously we’ve won bigger games in recent years than this one today.” But as we’re in season 25, we needed this badly.”
Hurley acknowledged there are still wrinkles the team needs to iron out, but a strong performance before conference play begins could be exactly what they need to clinch a third title. The season is long and brutal and success is fleeting. But what Connecticut has done better than any other program over the past two seasons is live up to expectations. This season may be his toughest attempt to do so yet.