This year’s UConn squad made it to the Final Four, establishing it as one of the best teams this year, if not the best. At 35-3, UConn certainly has a case to compare itself with other dominant teams from the last 20 years.
Dominant teams are filled with highly skilled individual players who coordinate their talents to play at a uniquely high level on a uniquely consistent basis.
Teams in general are never simply a product of the sum of their talent, but the talent level of their individual players can make the group something special and memorable.
I will first talk about what makes UConn dominant this year, but then I will argue what makes three other teams from the last 20 years even more dominant.
In the meantime, don’t forget to get ready to place your bets at the top NCAAB betting sites.
4 UConn (2024)
Continuity
In my mind, this year’s UConn team is the fourth-most dominant team from the last 20 years.
The Huskies are building off their title-winning tournament run from last year. They’ve returned a strong group of veterans plus other developing stars, and the fact that they won the title last year adds to the sense of their dominance as a program.
Offense and Defense
They are among the best teams in the nation on both offense and defense, ranking number one in offensive efficiency and number four in defensive efficiency.
The Huskies shoot the three well but also are eminently efficient inside and, led especially by point guard Tristen Newton, are a great passing team.
In terms of three-point shooting, Cam Spencer is one of the nation’s most efficient sharpshooters, converting 44 percent of his three-point shots. He epitomizes the consistency of the UConn Huskies, but the Huskies still dominate even in his rare off-days. For example, they still beat bubble team Seton Hall by 30 points, 91-61, when Spencer managed five points.
Depth on Defense
UConn’s depth is also apparent on defense, as it has dominated even when star center Donovan Clingan missed some games.
Clingan, though, adds a boost to the team’s top-tier interior defense. He is one of the nation’s top shot-blockers, recently recording the seventh-most blocks in an NCAA Tournament game, eclipsed by the likes of Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O’Neal.
His ridiculous size at 7’2, 280 pounds helps him dominate the paint, but he is also surprisingly mobile, as he’ll protect the rim by rotating or executing drop coverage.
Donovan Clingan today for UConn in the massive win against Illinois
22 points
10 boards
5 blocks
3 steals
9-13 FG
0-1 3P
4-7 FTThe 7’2 big man is absolutely dominating for the Huskies throughout this tourney and has been climbing himself in the top 5 pic.twitter.com/TQd5kzUEw2
— nbadraftpoint (@draftpoint2024) March 31, 2024
Comparison
I have UConn just ahead of the 2008 Kansas squad that required some free throw fortune to win its national title. UConn has not required such fortune, as it continues to dominate team after team, including Illinois via an absurd 30-0 run.
The Huskies also have better non-conference wins than 2008 Kansas, beating North Carolina by double digits on a neutral court.
3 Baylor (2021)
Somehow people forget about this team, but it was stacked to a unique degree.
Let’s start from the bottom: Matthew Mayer was ninth on the team in offensive rating. The sharpshooter who converted 39.5% of his three-point shots and made it to the NBA’s G League – again, as the ninth-best scorer on the team.
The Bears were led by elite guard play, guards who could score but also play great defense. Led by Davion Mitchell and Jared Butler, and aided further by the likes of Adam Flagler, they were the top three-point shooting team in the nation.
On defense, their pressure was hard for even the best offenses to deal with. They were one of the best teams at committing turnovers.
Why Number Three?
I put Baylor ahead of UConn for two main reasons: one is UConn’s hiccups in the regular season and two is the quality of Baylor’s tournament run.
The Huskies, most notably, were blown out at Creighton by 19 points. Overall, they lost three games. Baylor lost at Kansas and against Oklahoma State. So, one loss fewer and no loss by as many points.
While the Bears weren’t conference champs like UConn, they were in a tougher conference that featured more NCAA Tournament teams. They were national champs, winning the title by beating Wisconsin, Villanova, Arkansas, Houston, and Gonzaga by double digits.
All five of those teams ranked top-20 in KenPom. Houston and Gonzaga ranked top-five. UConn’s tournament run has been much easier by comparison.
While teams can only beat their opponent, they can’t get the same level of credit that other teams do who have faced harder opponents.
2 Kentucky (2012)
Just to further illustrate why UConn isn’t the most dominant team from the last 20 teams, we can mention two teams who were even more dominant than 2020-2021 Baylor.
One such squad is 2012 Kentucky, who finished 38-2, including 16-0 in conference play, and won the national championship.
Whereas UConn is balanced, Kentucky was balanced and had elite talent, headed by current Lakers star Anthony Davis. This group, ranked second in offensive efficiency and seventh in defensive efficiency, could win low-scoring games, as in its national title triumph over Kansas, but it could also win by scoring over 100 points, as it did against Indiana.
1 Kentucky (2015)
2015 Kentucky vs. Notre Dame was one of the greatest games of the past 25 years easily. Peak college basketball pic.twitter.com/2xvCtHAjoy
— Big Osc (@bosbbn) March 12, 2023
Kentucky’s 2015 team is the most dominant team of the last 20 years.
They ranked sixth in offensive efficiency and first in defensive efficiency. This group featured two current NBA stars, Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker, plus a greater and deeper bench than the 2012 team.
It constantly won by double digits, including a 32-point win over eventual two-seed Kansas on neutral court.
While the Wildcats didn’t win the national championship, they were 38-1 and would have, with their talent and depth, beaten the 2012 squad.
