This Just In — The title of “Cardiac Pack” now belongs to the UConn Huskies after an absolutely impossible and glorious win over Duke last weekend. Anyone else wishing to lay claim to that title will have to come and take it from Coach Dan Hurley. Good luck with that.
The Hurley connection with Duke makes this win all the more compelling, but overall, this was a contest and a win that says to me that the “Blue Bloods” rivalry between Carolina and Duke must now be expanded to include the powerhouse that is the UConn basketball program.
This is not merely about wins and championships, it’s about the massive, sustained excitement for the game that UConn has delivered. Watching Grant Hill’s response to that buzzer-beater shot wrapped it all up. Shock. Disbelief. Admiration. A clean, crystal clear, unambiguous, stunning swish for the win.
Freshman Braylon Mullins didn’t heave this ball while running up the court in a desperate, last-second “Hail Mary” that happened to go in.
No. His Senior teammate Alex Karaban (who could have taken a shot from slightly closer) passed the ball to wide open Mullins. He planted his feet and took that shot — a moon ball.
This was a win for a mature coach and a seasoned team, with senior leadership over a bigger, stronger Duke team that dominated for much of the game.
I’ll take credit for telling my husband (when his Huskies were still down 10 points) that if UConn cuts it to five, they’d win. When that happened, I pointed out — look at the energy on that bench. Those kids believe it.
That’s the game and that’s the nature of a great program and the leadership at the top. Energy. Confidence. This has now become a storied rivalry that perhaps will be written about by our own Art Chansky (Get well soon, Art!).
Where Carolina had set a tournament record in its first round loss after a 19 point lead, Duke snatched that record for itself, adding to it the unprecedented status of being the only #1 seed to lose after a 15 point halftime lead.
The finish felt like deja vu all over again, as Yogi Berra would say, as it bore a stunning resemblance to Carolina’s win in Chapel Hill earlier this year. That’s got to stick in the throat of any Duke fan.
As I’ve mentioned before, we’re one of those “House Divided” families here. When we renovated our hall bathroom, I painted the walls Carolina Blue with a UConn blue accent wall. I make sure to explain to visitors — that’s Husky blue, not Blue Devil blue. I may add logos just to be sure there’s no confusion.
As Carolina fans are perhaps transactional UConn fans for this week, I’ll mention here that the impact in Connecticut of both men’s and women’s teams being in the Final Four is substantial as it would be here. It’s rare air. Nobody takes it for granted.
So for every fan (including Coach Hurley) who has a lucky article of clothing that you’ve been wearing without cleaning it this year — put on that stinky shirt/suit/sweatshirt just two more times and bring home that trophy … you know again.
Featured photo via AP Photo/Abbie Parr.
Jean Bolduc is a freelance writer and is the author of “African Americans of Durham & Orange Counties: An Oral History” (History Press, 2016) and has served on Orange County’s Human Relations Commission, The Alliance of AIDS Services-Carolina, the Orange County Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, and the Orange County Schools’ Equity Task Force. She was a featured columnist and reporter for the Chapel Hill Herald and the News & Observer.
Readers can reach Jean via email – jean@penandinc.com and via Twitter @JeanBolduc
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