UCONN wins 2014 National Championship

In a game featuring the highest combined seeds in the history of the national championship game, the Connecticut Huskies defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 60-54 at AT&T Stadium in North Texas to win the school’s fourth NCAA title.

All of those championships have come since 1999, the third-fastest a team has won four titles in NCAA history. It is UConn’s second title in four seasons and the first for 41-year-old head coach Kevin Ollie, who is in just his second season leading his alma mater and only four years removed from a 13-year career as an NBA player.

Just as in 2011, the Huskies were led to the championship by a stellar performance from a veteran guard. That year, it was junior Kemba Walker, who averaged 23.5 points during UConn’s six-game run to the title as a No. 3 seed.

This year, it was senior Shabazz Napier, a freshman on that team three years ago, who scored 22 points on Monday night to help the seventh-seeded Huskies knock off the eighth-seeded Wildcats while earning Most Outstanding Player honors. UConn is the first No. 7 seed ever to win the national championship.

The Wildcats were looking for their ninth NCAA title, instead they lost for the fourth time. UConn is now 4-0 in championship games.