Best In Show: UConn Huskies Defeat Butler Bulldogs To Win 3rd NCAA Championship

UConn Huskies: 2011 NCAA Champs!  (Credit: Hartford Courant)

Five months ago, who saw this coming?  Not Sports Illustrated, which didn't put UConn in its preseason bracket of 68.  Not the Big East coaches, who predicted that UConn would finish 10th in conference play.  Not even me, a lifelong Huskies fan -- I was just hoping we could avoid the NIT for a second straight year.

But these puppy Huskies, led by embattled head coach Jim Calhoun and transcendent superstar Kemba Walker, believed they could be something special.  It was just a matter of harnessing young talent, balancing strengths (defense, speed, Kemba) with weaknesses (penetrating the zone, inexperience, shallow bench).  After a strong start (17-2) the team cooled off (4-7 down the stretch), and the question became: could they put together a sustained run in the postseason?  Well, now we know.

Without further ado, let's take a look at how UConn won tonight and where the program will go from here...

Read more>>