Sadly, to put a heart-shattering, double exclamation mark on the 2022-23 season, the Hoosier women lost the BIG Tourney to Ohio State but won a NCAA Tourney first round game against Tennessee Tech, however, just like the men, lost to Miami “The U” to end the season. I would have to wait at least another year. The UConn men, on the other hand, would make a statement about how the “Magic of Sixty” applies to any championship team.
It was just announced that the 2023-24 Hoosiers will play the defending NCAA champion Huskies in the Empire Classic at Madison Square Gardens on November 19th. Since both teams experienced major turnover in the off-season with the NBA draft and transfer portal moves, no one is really sure what to expect. UConn is projected in the Top 10 while Indiana barely makes the Top 25. Dan Hurley and Mike Woodson will match coaching wits for the first time in a battle that will likely boil down to defense.
After just five years at the helm, Hurley’s Huskies claimed the top prize and tied Indiana with five NCAA Championship banners (1999, 2004, 2011, 2014, and 2023). The difference is that it took UConn only 24 years to get there as opposed to I.U.’s 47-year span. All of UConn’s titles have come well after the Hoosier’s last triumph in 1986 – 38 years ago.
In doing so, Coach Hurley took a page out of Coach Bob Knight’s book of defensive magic, leading his Huskies in the Final Four over the same Miami squad that had eliminated Coach Woodson’s Indiana in the second round. They, in fact, coincidentally held the Hurricanes to 59 points to get the chance to do the same 59-point defensive damage to San Diego in the Championship. Double the Magic to finish the season!
To get there, they had already held high-scoring Gonzaga to 53, Arkansas to 29-points at the half, St. Mary’s to a game total of only 55, and Iona to 24 in the second half. It’s that same Magic of Sixty (or two 30-point halves) that I’ve been preaching throughout this book. They apparently learned a lesson going into the NCAA Tourney when Marquette beat them for the Big East title because the Golden Eagles held the Huskies to just 30 in the second half, showing how defensive magic can work against them. Yes, UConn had their ups and downs throughout the season but went 17-1 when holding their opponent to 60-or less. The only loss was to Creighton 56-53, and that was countered earlier in the season with a 69-60 win over the same Blue Jays. Villanova, DePaul, and Oregon each only managed 59, Seton Hall 55, Butler 46, Iowa State 53, Delaware State 60, Boston University 57, and Stonehill 54 – all victims of the Magic of 60. If you get there first, you will likely win.
The game of basketball has changed since IU won their first title in 1940 over Kansas 60-42. Defenses are challenged even more with the shot clock, the 3-pointer, and other regulation shifts. However, as UConn just proved, THE MAGIC OF 60 STILL RULES!
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