HOUSTON (AP) — Ask some college sports fans what they think of when the name “UConn” comes up and the first probably isn't the men’s basketball program, despite being one win away from its fifth national title.
For decades, the major industry at the campus in Storrs, Connecticut, has been women’s hoops.
“If you ever come to our practice facility, you see banners and trophies — the women have 11 (championships) — so it’s big shoes to fill,” UConn guard Andre Jackson Jr. said.
A win Monday night over San Diego State would put the Huskies in a tie with Duke for the fourth-most titles on the men’s side. And yet, they'd still have less than half of what coach Geno Auriemma has racked up in the women’s game.
Behind once-in-a-lifetime stars such as Rip Hamilton, Kemba Walker, Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon, the Huskies won the men’s titles in 1999, 2004, 2011 and 2014 — the last of those in a season in which the women also won it all.
Coach Kevin Ollie was at the men's helm during that 2014 championship season after taking over for Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun in 2012. But soon problems began to emerge in the program, and Ollie was fired in 2018 after an NCAA investigation found multiple violations during a four-year period ending in 2017.
While Ollie won back most of his salary after years of legal wrangling that coincided with a downturn for the men's program — the Huskies reached the tournament just once in the five seasons after their last title — the women kept on rolling.
Auriemma has been at the school for 38 seasons, keeping his steady hand on the wheel. The women won four straight titles — 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. They've also reached the Final Four five times since their last title in 2016 and advanced to the championship game last season before falling to South Carolina.
This season, the women lost to Ohio State in the regional semifinal to snap a streak of 14 consecutive trips to the Final Four.
Now, the men are in the limelight again and nearing the pinnacle under the direction of coach Dan Hurley, who arrived in 2019 to a team not ranked in the top 150.
By 2021, the Huskies were back into the tournament, though they got bounced in the first round. Same thing last year, but Hurley took a close look in the mirror, and at his program, then went about beefing up his offense in the transfer portal.
Now, they’re the favorites heading into the title game after Saturday's win over Miami.
But whether they finish the job, there’s more work to do to before they can stand alongside the women’s team in basketball history.
“What Coach Geno had done for the women’s program, he built it up to become the most dominant program in women’s basketball, so it’s special,” UConn forward Alex Karaban said. “And we really do have to look up to it … they’re a huge standard for us.”
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