UConn's elite 8 opponents ranked from best to worst

[Travelman6]

Uconn has faced 11 elite 8 opponents since 1990, how would you rank them?

1990 Duke (lost 79-78)
1995 UCLA (lost 102-96)
1998 UNC (lost 75-64)
1999 Gonzaga (won 67-62)
2002 Maryland (lost 90-82)
2004 Alabama (won 87-71)
2006 George Mason (lost 86-84, OT)
2009 Missouri (won 82-75)
2011 Arizona (won 65-63)
2014 MSU (won 60-54)
2023 Gonzaga (won 82-54)

My Ranking:
11. 2006 George Mason
10. 2023 Gonzaga (would have been ranked higher if the elite 8 game had been closer)
9. 2004 Alabama
8. 2009 Missouri
7. 1999 Gonzaga
6. 2014 MSU
5. 2011 Arizona
4. 1990 Duke (would have been higher but got crushed by UNLV)
3. 2002 Maryland
2. 1998 UNC
1. 1995 UCLA

 

[nelsonmuntz]

1) 1995 UCLA - The 1995 UCLA team was a wrecking crew. UConn played very well to only lose by 6.
2) 1998 UNC - UNC was a very good team that was playing at home. This was a very tough matchup for UConn.
3) 1990 Duke - Grant Hill, Laettner and Bobby Hurley. This was a very good team. Hurley played an amazing game breaking our press despite I believe not hitting any shots.
4) 2011 Arizona - This team could just play ball. I have watched the ending sequence 100 times, and the second Arizona 3 attempt still looks like it is going in.
5) 2002 Maryland - Very good Maryland team playing an inexperienced UConn team getting carried by Caron.
6) 2014 MSU - MSU was good, but was not great offensively and susceptible to an upset.
7) 2023 Gonzaga - probably the second best offensive team UConn has ever played in the Elite 8.
8) 1999 Gonzaga - an underrated and underseeded team that took out a very good Stanford team in the second round.
9) 2009 Missouri - a solid team that played UConn tough, but UConn was definitely the better team. Price probably had his worst game of the tournament for this game to only be a 7 point UConn win.
10) 2006 George Mason - UConn should have never lost this game. Armstrong and Boone got dominated by a frontcourt that was 6'7 and 6'6.
11) 2004 Alabama - This was the worst Elite 8 opponent UConn has ever played, and I don't think it is close. This was a 20-12 team in a mediocre SEC going into the game against UConn. UConn pummeled them, and was up 24 at halftime. Saying this team is better than the 2023 Gonzaga team is just trolling.

 

[tzznandrew]

1) 1995 UCLA - The 1995 UCLA team was a wrecking crew. UConn played very well to only lose by 6.
2) 1998 UNC - UNC was a very good team that was playing at home. This was a very tough matchup for UConn.
3) 1990 Duke - Grant Hill, Laettner and Bobby Hurley. This was a very good team. Hurley played an amazing game breaking our press despite I believe not hitting any shots.
4) 2011 Arizona - This team could just play ball. I have watched the ending sequence 100 times, and the second Arizona 3 attempt still looks like it is going in.
5) 2002 Maryland - Very good Maryland team playing an inexperienced UConn team getting carried by Caron.
6) 2014 MSU - MSU was good, but was not great offensively and susceptible to an upset.
7) 2023 Gonzaga - probably the second best offensive team UConn has ever played in the Elite 8.
8) 1999 Gonzaga - an underrated and underseeded team that took out a very good Stanford team in the second round.
9) 2009 Missouri - a solid team that played UConn tough, but UConn was definitely the better team. Price probably had his worst game of the tournament for this game to only be a 7 point UConn win.
10) 2006 George Mason - UConn should have never lost this game. Armstrong and Boone got dominated by a frontcourt that was 6'7 and 6'6.
11) 2004 Alabama - This was the worst Elite 8 opponent UConn has ever played, and I don't think it is close. This was a 20-12 team in a mediocre SEC going into the game against UConn. UConn pummeled them, and was up 24 at halftime. Saying this team is better than the 2023 Gonzaga team is just trolling.

This is a very good list, and you are absolutely right in your placement of 2023 Gonzaga and 2004 Alabama. I'd probably flip 2002 Maryland into 2011 Arizona's spot, and probably flip 2009 Missouri in 1999 Gonzaga's spot, but those are completely justifiable places to put the teams.

If we're thinking Tiers, it's 1-3, then a gap and 4-6, then 7, then 8-9, then a gap, 10, then a wider gap, 13.

 

[Tenspro2002]

1) 1995 UCLA - The 1995 UCLA team was a wrecking crew. UConn played very well to only lose by 6.
2) 1998 UNC - UNC was a very good team that was playing at home. This was a very tough matchup for UConn.
3) 1990 Duke - Grant Hill, Laettner and Bobby Hurley. This was a very good team. Hurley played an amazing game breaking our press despite I believe not hitting any shots.
4) 2011 Arizona - This team could just play ball. I have watched the ending sequence 100 times, and the second Arizona 3 attempt still looks like it is going in.
5) 2002 Maryland - Very good Maryland team playing an inexperienced UConn team getting carried by Caron.
6) 2014 MSU - MSU was good, but was not great offensively and susceptible to an upset.
7) 2023 Gonzaga - probably the second best offensive team UConn has ever played in the Elite 8.
8) 1999 Gonzaga - an underrated and underseeded team that took out a very good Stanford team in the second round.
9) 2009 Missouri - a solid team that played UConn tough, but UConn was definitely the better team. Price probably had his worst game of the tournament for this game to only be a 7 point UConn win.
10) 2006 George Mason - UConn should have never lost this game. Armstrong and Boone got dominated by a frontcourt that was 6'7 and 6'6.
11) 2004 Alabama - This was the worst Elite 8 opponent UConn has ever played, and I don't think it is close. This was a 20-12 team in a mediocre SEC going into the game against UConn. UConn pummeled them, and was up 24 at halftime. Saying this team is better than the 2023 Gonzaga team is just trolling.

This has the contours about right.

2009 Missouri should be a bit higher -- that was a #3 seed who took out #2 seed Memphis and was appropriately ranked, and kept the game pretty close. I consider them better than 1999 Gonzaga and possibly 2023 Gonzaga (though may be biased by how badly we beat them).

I would also put 2002 Maryland (the #1 seed and eventual champions) above 2011 Arizona and maybe 1990 Duke (who went on to get destroyed by UNLV).

 

[Husky25]

1) 1995 UCLA - The 1995 UCLA team was a wrecking crew. UConn played very well to only lose by 6.
2) 1998 UNC - UNC was a very good team that was playing at home. This was a very tough matchup for UConn.
3) 1990 Duke - Grant Hill, Laettner and Bobby Hurley. This was a very good team. Hurley played an amazing game breaking our press despite I believe not hitting any shots.
4) 2011 Arizona - This team could just play ball. I have watched the ending sequence 100 times, and the second Arizona 3 attempt still looks like it is going in.
5) 2002 Maryland - Very good Maryland team playing an inexperienced UConn team getting carried by Caron.
6) 2014 MSU - MSU was good, but was not great offensively and susceptible to an upset.
7) 2023 Gonzaga - probably the second best offensive team UConn has ever played in the Elite 8.
8) 1999 Gonzaga - an underrated and underseeded team that took out a very good Stanford team in the second round.
9) 2009 Missouri - a solid team that played UConn tough, but UConn was definitely the better team. Price probably had his worst game of the tournament for this game to only be a 7 point UConn win.
10) 2006 George Mason - UConn should have never lost this game. Armstrong and Boone got dominated by a frontcourt that was 6'7 and 6'6.
11) 2004 Alabama - This was the worst Elite 8 opponent UConn has ever played, and I don't think it is close. This was a 20-12 team in a mediocre SEC going into the game against UConn. UConn pummeled them, and was up 24 at halftime. Saying this team is better than the 2023 Gonzaga team is just trolling.

Solid ranking, but two things come to mind:

I'd flip 1998 UNC and 1990 Duke. Bobby Hurley was an exceptional college basketball player and he may have been a better pro, if not for the car accident. He started all of Sacramento's 19 games in 1993 leading up to the accident, averaging nearly 10 points and over 8 assists. OTOH, he was short, (Listed at 6'-0", he's was probably 5'-10" at best in socks) skinny, and after hitting 18-foot 3s from the top of the key at Cameron Indoor, didn't have NBA 3-pt range.

2014 MSU is good where they are, but in fairness to 1998 UNC, the 2014 Elite Eight was a virtual home game for UConn. I was at the Sweet 16 game and while each team had a dedicated section, UConn had about 60% of the rest of the crowd support. The remaining was split between the other teams. After the early game ISU fans were selling tickets off to recoup some money, but Virginia fans were unloading their Sunday tickets to UConn out of spite. The "home court" vibe at MSG was unmistakable.

 

[HuskyBaggins]

Solid ranking, but two things come to mind:

I'd flip 1998 UNC and 1990 Duke. Bobby Hurley was an exceptional college basketball player and he may have been a better pro, if not for the car accident. He started all of Sacramento's 19 games in 1993 leading up to the accident, averaging nearly 10 points and over 8 assists. OTOH, he was short, (Listed at 6'-0", he's was probably 5'-10" at best in socks) skinny, and after hitting 18-foot 3s from the top of the key at Cameron Indoor, didn't have NBA 3-pt range.

2014 MSU is good where they are, but in fairness to 1998 UNC, the 2014 Elite Eight was a virtual home game for UConn. I was at the Sweet 16 game and while each team had a dedicated section, UConn had about 60% of the rest of the crowd support. The remaining was split between the other teams. After the early game ISU fans were selling tickets off to recoup some money, but Virginia fans were unloading their Sunday tickets to UConn out of spite. The "home court" vibe at MSG was unmistakable.

By 2014, UConn was OWED a friendly elite 8 atmosphere after some of the screw jobs they got over the years.

 

[nelsonmuntz]

This is a very good list, and you are absolutely right in your placement of 2023 Gonzaga and 2004 Alabama. I'd probably flip 2002 Maryland into 2011 Arizona's spot, and probably flip 2009 Missouri in 1999 Gonzaga's spot, but those are completely justifiable places to put the teams.

If we're thinking Tiers, it's 1-3, then a gap and 4-6, then 7, then 8-9, then a gap, 10, then a wider gap, 13.

I go back and forth on 2002 Maryland. They had a great season and had a tough road to the title (beating Wisconsin, Kentucky, UConn, Kansas and Indiana), but I still think Lonny Baxter is a fat, slow undersized center that needed friendly officiating to be effective. The fact that Okafor was in foul trouble because of a guy that looked like he belonged on a middle-aged softball team still makes me angry.

Arizona was the best team UConn played in 2011, and I honestly thought UConn was going to lose right up until that last 3 point attempt hit the rim. Regarding 2009, beating a highly seeded Calipari team does not seem as impressive today as it did back then.

 

[bendm]

how about a final 4 ranking seeing as we're about to play in the final 4?

1) '04 Duke (#1 seed)- the landlord, jj redick, chris duhon. battle of the titans. best final 4 game ever.
2) '14 Florida (#1 seed)- went 36-3, undefeated in the SEC, finished 1st in the final AP poll despite not winning it all.
3) '09 MSU (#2 seed)- classic izzo team of blue collar scrappers but we win this game with slicin' dyson.
4) '23 Miami (#5 seed)- lowest seed we've played in a FF but playing better than anyone (except us).
5) '11 UK (#4 seed)- led by brandon knight and terrence jones. overachieved relative to the talent of other UK teams under Cal.
6) '99 OSU (#4 seed)- led by michael redd. they didnt stand a chance against Rip and co.

 

[UKemba15]

I go back and forth on 2002 Maryland. They had a great season and had a tough road to the title (beating Wisconsin, Kentucky, UConn, Kansas and Indiana), but I still think Lonny Baxter is a fat, slow undersized center that needed friendly officiating to be effective. The fact that Okafor was in foul trouble because of a guy that looked like he belonged on a middle-aged softball team still makes me angry.

Arizona was the best team UConn played in 2011, and I honestly thought UConn was going to lose right up until that last 3 point attempt hit the rim. Regarding 2009, beating a highly seeded Calipari team does not seem as impressive today as it did back then.

I don’t think anything depressed me quite as much as the 2002 Maryland loss. I know they were good, and I knew at the time, but the back and forth of that game was so excruciating I was a complete mess at the end. Still managed to love watching Juan Dixon play, he was one of my favorite guards to watch of the early 2000s. Caron deserved a chip though…

 

[Husky25]

By 2014, UConn was OWED a friendly elite 8 atmosphere after some of the screw jobs they got over the years.

As if you expected the Committee to do them any favors?

First they were coming off a postseason ban for a bogus APR violation. Then they were under-seeded. (ranked #18 going into the tournament, they should have been a 5 seed at worst. Then they were matched up vs a sneaky tough St. Joe's team, just begging for the upset and a really really good Villanova squad that would control college basketball for the next five seasons, minimum.

It was no gift. Emmert had no expectation that UConn was even going to be there.

 

[tzznandrew]

2) '14 Florida (#1 seed)- went 36-3, undefeated in the SEC, finished 1st in the final AP poll despite not winning it all.

The final AP poll is the pre-tournament one.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

Freshman Emeka needed a bit more muscle to teach the top level. He solved that a year later but did have difficulty with Baxter and I'm pretty sure Southern Illinois had a guy who was like 6'6" 260 who Emeka had a little trouble with.

Baxter playing bully inside and the prayer Blake hit as the shot clock was running out from nearly 40' out were what kept us from final four that year.

 

[Husky25]

how about a final 4 ranking seeing as we're about to play in the final 4?

1) '04 Duke (#1 seed)- the landlord, jj redick, chris duhon. battle of the titans. best final 4 game ever.
2) '14 Florida (#1 seed)- went 36-3, undefeated in the SEC, finished 1st in the final AP poll despite not winning it all.
3) '09 MSU (#2 seed)- classic izzo team of blue collar scrappers but we win this game with slicin' dyson.
4) '23 Miami (#5 seed)- lowest seed we've played in a FF but playing better than anyone (except us).
5) '11 UK (#4 seed)- led by brandon knight and terrence jones. overachieved relative to the talent of other UK teams under Cal.
6) '99 OSU (#4 seed)- led by michael redd. they didnt stand a chance against Rip and co.

All due respect, but the best Final 4 game of my lifetime was Duke over UNLV in the 1991 rematch. The best Final 4 game between Duke and UConn was in 1999 and it's not close.

The 2004 version was a great win to be sure, but the refs nearly took the game away from the kids with two "questionable" early foul calls on Okafor.

 

[bendm]

The best Final 4 game between Duke and UConn was in 1999 and it's not close.

that was a championship game. final 4 game = semi final game.

happy to listen to your thoughts on the actual ranking of our FF opponents tho.

 

[Waquoit]

Real time that 2004 Alabama was a team on the come. Many "wiseguys" with egg on their face after that one.

 

[Frank06830]

1) 1995 UCLA - The 1995 UCLA team was a wrecking crew. UConn played very well to only lose by 6.
2) 1998 UNC - UNC was a very good team that was playing at home. This was a very tough matchup for UConn.
3) 1990 Duke - Grant Hill, Laettner and Bobby Hurley. This was a very good team. Hurley played an amazing game breaking our press despite I believe not hitting any shots.
4) 2011 Arizona - This team could just play ball. I have watched the ending sequence 100 times, and the second Arizona 3 attempt still looks like it is going in.
5) 2002 Maryland - Very good Maryland team playing an inexperienced UConn team getting carried by Caron.
6) 2014 MSU - MSU was good, but was not great offensively and susceptible to an upset.
7) 2023 Gonzaga - probably the second best offensive team UConn has ever played in the Elite 8.
8) 1999 Gonzaga - an underrated and underseeded team that took out a very good Stanford team in the second round.
9) 2009 Missouri - a solid team that played UConn tough, but UConn was definitely the better team. Price probably had his worst game of the tournament for this game to only be a 7 point UConn win.
10) 2006 George Mason - UConn should have never lost this game. Armstrong and Boone got dominated by a frontcourt that was 6'7 and 6'6.
11) 2004 Alabama - This was the worst Elite 8 opponent UConn has ever played, and I don't think it is close. This was a 20-12 team in a mediocre SEC going into the game against UConn. UConn pummeled them, and was up 24 at halftime. Saying this team is better than the 2023 Gonzaga team is just trolling.

1995 vs UCLA. Toby “f@#$$ing” Bailey. Scored 26 pts shooting 71%

 

[Waquoit]

I thought we were just as good or better than 1995 UCLA. They had a kid play the game of his life. That was part of a JC stump speech for years. I thought we played well to get beat against 1998 UNC. That team had prime Vince Carter and Antoine Jamison.

 

[upstater]

Uconn has faced 11 elite 8 opponents since 1990, how would you rank them?

1990 Duke (lost 79-78)
1995 UCLA (lost 102-96)
1998 UNC (lost 75-64)
1999 Gonzaga (won 67-62)
2002 Maryland (lost 90-82)
2004 Alabama (won 87-71)
2006 George Mason (lost 86-84, OT)
2009 Missouri (won 82-75)
2011 Arizona (won 65-63)
2014 MSU (won 60-54)
2023 Gonzaga (won 82-54)

My Ranking:
11. 2006 George Mason
10. 2023 Gonzaga (would have been ranked higher if the elite 8 game had been closer)
9. 2004 Alabama
8. 2009 Missouri
7. 1999 Gonzaga
6. 2014 MSU
5. 2011 Arizona
4. 1990 Duke (would have been higher but got crushed by UNLV)
3. 2002 Maryland
2. 1998 UNC
1. 1995 UCLA

I would only flip #1 and #2, though I'm also tempted to elevate Arizona

 

[Frank06830]

I thought we were just as good or better than 1995 UCLA. They had a kid play the game of his life. That was part of a JC stump speech for years. I thought we played well to get beat against 1998 UNC. That team had prime Vince Carter and Antoine Jamison.

Toby Bailey. went on to play 2 seasons in NBA scoring 3.3 pts a game

 

[nelsonmuntz]

All due respect, but the best Final 4 game of my lifetime was Duke over UNLV in the 1991 rematch. The best Final 4 game between Duke and UConn was in 1999 and it's not close.

The 2004 version was a great win to be sure, but the refs nearly took the game away from the kids with two "questionable" early foul calls on Okafor.

Several members of UNLV were point shaving that 1991 game, so it doesn't count.

 

[Waquoit]

Toby Bailey. went on to play 2 seasons in NBA scoring 3.3 pts a game

I knew his name, didn't want to give it a mention

 

[Waquoit]

Several members of UNLV were point shaving that 1991 game, so it doesn't count.

Wonder why that never came up during the recent "Tark was right" hagiographys?

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Real time that 2004 Alabama was a team on the come. Many "wiseguys" with egg on their face after that one.

That Alabama team sucked and shouldn't have been there. What "wiseguys" thought Alabama would win? They had no chance against 2004 UConn.

 

[Waquoit]

That Alabama team sucked and shouldn't have been there. What "wiseguys" thought Alabama would win? They had no chance against 2004 UConn.

That's not what I heard before the game and I was soaking in everything I could. There is no certitude better than after-the-fact certitude.

 

[Husky25]

that was a championship game. final 4 game = semi final game.

happy to listen to your thoughts on the actual ranking of our FF opponents tho.

Thanks for the clarification of your definition. To me, a Final 4 game is one played by schools in that years' Final 4, at the Final 4 venue.

Be that as it may, I'd rank UConn Semis games as such:

2014 - Florida was the #1 best team in the Country, the #1 overall seed, and was rolling. UConn's defense was amazing for the final 36 minutes.
2004 - As much as everyone hated Duke, they were the gold standard. The game itself blew, as the refs nearly took over. It would have been nice to see how it would have played out with Okafor playing to his standard.
2011 - Up 10 at halftime, only for a decent UK team to come back and deliver as nerve-racking of a 2nd half as I've ever seen.
2009 - It was a home game for MSU, but make no mistake, they were good. Does Dyson put UConn over the top? I don't know, but it probably would have been moot. UNC was so far and away the best team that year that despite their four losses, #2-#8 should have been left blank and everyone else should have started at 9.
1999 - UConn was the best team in the country. The only reason they ended the regular season as #4 was the loss to Miami. Regardless of score, this game never felt in doubt. OSU was there only because they upset a superior St. Johns team.