Finals Recap
(2) Connecticut 82, (3) Georgia Tech 73
For the second time in six seasons, the Connecticut Huskies are champions of the college basketball world, beating Georgia Tech in the championship 82-73. The first few minutes were close and Georgia Tech even held a 12-11 lead. But from there, the Huskies went on a 21-6 run to take control of the game. The lead was 15 at the break and as high as 25 in the second half. The Yellow Jackets fought back to make the score respectable but the game never matched excitement of Saturday night’s nail-biters. Connecticut’s inside-outside combo proved to be too difficult to contain. Emeka Okafor had 24 points and 15 rebounds and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Ben Gordon had 21 points and Rashad Anderson 18 points for the Huskies. Will Bynum had 17 points to lead Georgia Tech and BJ Elder added 14. Luke Schenscher had nine points and eleven rebounds but looked overmatched against Okafor all night.
The win comes after finding out that UConn Coach Jim Calhoun was one vote shy of being elected to the Hall of Fame. It will be hard to deny him the second time around now that he becomes the first coach in forty years to win the championship in each of his first two Final Four appearances. His impact on the Huskies is impossible to ignore. Since coming to Storrs, UConn is 34-10 in the NCAA tournament. Before his arrival they were 4-14 and a cellar dweller in the Big East. Next year, it will be tough for them to repeat with all signs pointing to Okafor and Gordon heading the NBA. But the cupboard is far from bare with a stellar recruiting class joining the likes of Josh Boone, Charlie Villanueva and Rashad Anderson.
Georgia Tech figures to be back in the hunt next year returning four starters in addition to Will Bynum and Isma’il Muhammed. In his fourth season at the helm, Paul Hewitt has established himself as one of the best young coaches in the game. He led the Yellow Jackets to their first Final Four since 1990 and their first ever national championship game. Armed with a new six year contract extension believed to be worth over a million dollars a season, this may be only the beginning of a very successful run of Georgia Tech basketball.
