In order to start the transition to basketball season, we'll be counting down the days until the first game -- in classic TheUConnBlog fashion (i.e. inconsistently) -- and honoring our forefathers along the way. You can check out all of the entries here.
As in March 30, 1988: the day the Huskies won their first and only championship in the National Invitational Tournament, more commonly known as the Syracuse Invite.
Led by the duo of Tate George and Clifford Robinson, the Huskies, which finished last (ninth) in the Big East but ended the regular season with five straightt wins to earn an NIT bid, toppled the Gary Williams-led Buckeyes of Ohio State, 72-67, prompting this gem of a lede in the Boston Globe the following morning:
"NEW YORK - What do they feed the young horses in the Big East?"
Fantastic.
Still, it probably doesn't top this quote by Coach Cal, who, although in just his second season at the helm in Storrs, already knew how to dole out the money quotes.
"I really don't consider my team a last-place team," said Calhoun. "The mathematicians may figure us to be a last-place team, but that's statistics. It has nothing to do with heart."
Little did he know, those same mathematicians and number warlocks would later figure UConn to be the top team in the Big East a whopping 10 times.