The University of Connecticut won their 4th NCAA Division-1 basketball Championship Monday night, defeating University of Kentucky 60-54 in the final.
UConn Huskies, seeded 7th, overcame 8th seed Kentucky Wildcats, with an outstanding performance from tournament MVP Shabbaz Napier who scored 22 points.
Napier topped the tournament with 105 points and was second in the overall assists column with 24. It was Napier's 2nd NCAA title with the UConn Huskies after winning the title in his freshman year in 2011.
UConn was banned from the NCAA tournament play last year due to academic ineligibility, and Napier remembered the ban very well: "Honestly, I want to get everybody's attention," he bellowed. " You are looking at some hungry huskies here!"
Head Coach Kevin Ollie in his 2nd year has won his first NCAA title, and paid tribute to long time coach Jim Calhoun who is now retired, but was in the crowd.
"Eighteen months ago we started this process, and I said, the last shall be the first...and we did it together as a team," Ollie, a black coach said.
John Calipari who is now 1-4 in NCAA finals, said: "I hate to lose, but if I had to lose, I am happy it's to him (Ollie)."
UConn which ended the season with a record of 32-8 won six straight games to win the NCAA title, while Kentucky finished at 29-11.
All feeds
