UConn coach Dan Hurley was thrilled to have come through on his promise of doing “something big” after his team’s NCAA title triumph.
The Huskies beat San Diego State 76-59 in Houston on Monday, capping their brilliant tournament with a sixth straight double-digit win, maintaining their perfect 5-0 record in National Championship games.
Of UConn’s five titles, four have been won in Texas, while the last one came in 2014.
Hurley took over UConn in 2018, and said this was the vision he had sold to the university and its players.
“Obviously a dream come true for all of us,” he told reporters.
“It’s part of the programme, we sold the vision – I sold the vision to the university that I could put together a special group of people, a coaching staff, and unbelievable players like this, so it feels great to come through.
“This was our vision, this was our dream, this is what we said when we recruited these guys – to get together and do something big. It’s just great to come through on promises made to these players and the university. It was an honour to play against San Diego State, too.
“It was probably the most physical, toughest team we’ve played this year – certainly one of the best. I’ve just got so much admiration for how they play and their coach, he’s one of the best coaches in the country.”
Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher was gracious in defeat.
He said: “First of all I congratulate coach Danny Hurley and UConn Huskies. Very deserving. They’ve played at an elite level the entire tournament.
“We battled, we battled back to five in the second half but gave them too much separation. We weren’t at our best. We had to be at our best to win the game. A lot of that has to do with UConn.”
Dutcher, though, had few complaints with how his team performed through the championship.
“I’m proud of our guys. These guys have given me everything they’ve had,” he added.
“These guys are what it’s all about – college athletics. Good people, good students and they’re really good players.
“We can feel good about the things we did. We’re disappointed in the loss, but there’s a brotherhood in the locker room that will never be divided by a margin of victory or not winning at all. That brotherhood is going to last a lifetime, I told them that.”