Spring Break
Are you 'Moc'-ing us?
Huskies' NCAA dream begins Thursday against Chattanooga
Marc Gauthier
Issue date: 3/19/09 Section: March Madness
When the men's basketball team won their 1999 national championship, they were the No. 1 seed in the West bracket.
Five years later, in 2004, the Huskies won the national championship as the No. 2 seed in the West bracket.
Five years since their last championship, the Huskies are going back to the West bracket as the No. 1 seed, and the road to the championship begins Thursday afternoon as UConn takes on 16th-seeded University of Tennessee-Chattanooga at 3 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.
This is the fifth time since 1990 that UConn has earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Chattanooga (18-16, 11-9 Southern) made the NCAA Tournament through the automatic bid awarded to the conference tournament winner. The Mocs beat Charleston in the Southern Conference championship, 80-69.
The Southern Conference is divided into the North and the South. divisions Chattanooga finished off the season in first place in the North division, while Davidson finished in first place in the South Division.
During the season, the Mocs played four top-25 opponents in then-No. 13 Tennessee, then-No. 13 Memphis, then-No. 19 USC and then-No. 23 Davidson. Chattanooga was 0-4 against those teams, with their closest loss coming against Davidson, 100-95. The Mocs also lost to Memphis by 12 points when the two teams played back in November.
As a team, Chattanooga averages 76.8 points a game, while giving up 76 points to its opponents. The team is 290th of 327 NCAA teams in field goal percentage allowed, with 44 percent a game. The Mocs are also the 281st- best team when it comes to stealing the ball. They average 6.3 steals a game. Chattanooga also gives up 15.6 turnovers a game and only averages 2.5 blocks.
UConn, on the other hand, averages 77 points a game, and allows their opponents to score 62 points on only 37 percent shooting. The Huskies also lead the nation in blocked shots, with eight per game. UConn has led the nation in this category for seven straight years.
Five years later, in 2004, the Huskies won the national championship as the No. 2 seed in the West bracket.
Five years since their last championship, the Huskies are going back to the West bracket as the No. 1 seed, and the road to the championship begins Thursday afternoon as UConn takes on 16th-seeded University of Tennessee-Chattanooga at 3 at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.
This is the fifth time since 1990 that UConn has earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Chattanooga (18-16, 11-9 Southern) made the NCAA Tournament through the automatic bid awarded to the conference tournament winner. The Mocs beat Charleston in the Southern Conference championship, 80-69.
The Southern Conference is divided into the North and the South. divisions Chattanooga finished off the season in first place in the North division, while Davidson finished in first place in the South Division.
During the season, the Mocs played four top-25 opponents in then-No. 13 Tennessee, then-No. 13 Memphis, then-No. 19 USC and then-No. 23 Davidson. Chattanooga was 0-4 against those teams, with their closest loss coming against Davidson, 100-95. The Mocs also lost to Memphis by 12 points when the two teams played back in November.
As a team, Chattanooga averages 76.8 points a game, while giving up 76 points to its opponents. The team is 290th of 327 NCAA teams in field goal percentage allowed, with 44 percent a game. The Mocs are also the 281st- best team when it comes to stealing the ball. They average 6.3 steals a game. Chattanooga also gives up 15.6 turnovers a game and only averages 2.5 blocks.
UConn, on the other hand, averages 77 points a game, and allows their opponents to score 62 points on only 37 percent shooting. The Huskies also lead the nation in blocked shots, with eight per game. UConn has led the nation in this category for seven straight years.
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