"Been running college basketball for the past 30 years": UConn HC Dan Hurley pays homage to program's historic legacy after national championship win

The UConn Huskies have completed back-to-back Championship victories by defeating No.1 seed Purdue Boilermakers in the 2024 NCAA National Championship game.

During the ceremony, head coach Dan Hurley highlighted the incredible run the UConn program has had over the past three decades. He shared Huskies dominant run, saying:

"UConn's been running. For the last 25-30 years, UConn's been running college basketball. And I see all the former champs up there, and we've been running college basketball for the last 30 years."

The legacy of the UConn Huskies

Over the last 25 years, UConn has won six National Championships in its six appearances to the Finals.

This year, they became the first team to complete the back-to-back win since Florida in 2006 and 2007. Comparing his team to those teams, Dan Hurley gave the nod to his squad owing to the roster overhaul the team had to go through.

By comparison, Florida came back with essentially the same teams both times around, whereas UConn had to incorporate a whole new lineup. In the 30 years that Coach Hurley talks about, the team has made it to the NCAA 21 times.

With six Championships, seven Final Four appearances, and 11 Elite Eight appearances in that time frame, the Huskies have become one of the premier college basketball destinations in the country.

The dominance on display by UConn

It wasn't just the two straight Championships that highlighted the dominance on display by Coach Dan Hurley and his team. The proof of the pudding is in the margin of victory both times around.

Last year, the UConn Huskies were seen as insurmountable due to a shocking 20 points per game point differential through their NCAA Tournament run. This season, they improved on that number, reaching 23.3 points per game in a thoroughly dominant display.

The Final Game was an apt representation of the Huskies season, where both the defense and offense were in peak condition.

Against the number two ranked 3-point shooting team in the country, Purdue, led by National Player of the Year, Zach Edey, UConn's defense did its job, holding them to 60 points.

A 37 points and 10 rebound outing for Edey was the lone spark for the Boilermakers, who combined to shoot 31% from the field outside of Zach. On offense, the Huskies displayed team effort with 4 players chipping in double-digit efforts.

Donovan Clingan added 11 points and was supported by an identical output from Cam Spencer. Stephon Castle chipped in with 15 points, but the star of the show was Tristen Newton.

He dropped 20 points and added seven assists to power UConn to a victory.

With back-to-back titles under their belt, do you think Dan Hurley could lead to attempt 3 straight? Let us know in the comments below.