UConn athletics has been defined by its basketball programs in the 21st century. The UConn basketball programs, combined, have been the two best since the turn of the century, with the women's team extremely dominant and the men's team playing well, too. It is something that UConn alums take notice of, and Paige Bueckers recently said that the double Final Four only further proves that Storrs is the Basketball Capital of the World.
Paige Bueckers made the comments during Team USA's basketball practice for the Women's FIBA Basketball World Cup. It is one thing that can be backed by pure numbers as well. The UConn women's basketball program is the most dominant in the history of the sport, while the men's program is the best since the 2000s in terms of championships, and they are both back in the Final Four.
The road to the Final Four for both programs looked a little different. The women's team dominated on its road to the Final Four in Phoenix. The Huskies' closest game on their way to their 23rd Final Four in school history was 18 points against Notre Dame in the Elite Eight. They also enter undefeated with a 38-0 record.
The men's team got to the Final Four in a much more improbable fashion. The Huskies looked dominant in their first two games, but their next two were games where they had to show up in clutch time. They managed to hang on against Michigan State after the Spartans started slow, but mounted a furious comeback before losing. Then, against Duke, they had one of the most improbable wins in NCAA Tournament history.
Duke led by as much as 19 points in the game, and all Cayden Boozer had to do was hang onto the ball and draw a foul, but instead, he passed it, and it got intercepted and landed in Braylon Mullins' hands before he launched it from the logo for a game-winning three.
UConn has been in the Final Four alongside these two programs, and it will be interesting to see how both perform this weekend and whether they can win dual championships for the first time since 2014.
