27 years ago, UConn was on the outside looking in at blue bloods like Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, UNC, and the Duke Blue Devils, their opponents in the 1999 title game.
Led by that year’s first overall NBA draft pick Elton Brand, Duke entered the championship as 9.5-point favorites on a 32-game winning streak. As the caption indicates, UConn’s first-ever title was a stunner, and it remains the biggest point-spread upset in the history of NCAA title games.
The cover star here is Ricky Moore — not lithe leading scorer Richard Hamilton or spark plug point guard Khalid El-Amin, who sealed the game with a pair of free throws. Moore and Kevin Freeman (the only two of the game’s starters not to be drafted into the NBA) each had eight rebounds for the Huskies.
A win tomorrow night would give UConn their 7th men’s title — all since ’99 — putting them third all-time behind Kentucky (8) and UCLA (11), programs that won most of their championships before Dan Hurley was born. Whatever happens, theirs is the bluest blood now.
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