This Date in UConn March Madness History: Gyno downs Huskies

The UConn men and women have created countless memories through the madness of March and onto the championships won in April. Each day between now and the men’s and women’s Final Fours next month, The Courant will look back through our archives and highlight a memorable men’s and/or women’s game that occurred on that date. Today:

2008: San Diego 70, UConn 69

Genos have historically been quite good to the University of Connecticut. Gynos, however, not so much.

Gyno Pomare (pronounced Geno), a 6-7 senior center, had the game of a lifetime for the University of San Diego in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2009. The big man scored a game-high 22 points on 10 of 12 shooting to will the Torreros, a 13-seed out of the West Coast Conference, past the fourth-seeded Huskies in a spirit-breaking upset. Ironic that a Gyno would down the Huskies, right?

Led by Jeff Adrien (18 points) and Hasheem Thabeet (14), UConn did enough to take a 69-68 lead with five seconds left in overtime, but De’Jon Jackson hit a pull-up jumper from the elbow with 1.2 seconds to go to win it for the Torreros. It was a heartbreaker for UConn, which certainly wasn’t expecting to exit the dance so early. The Huskies would bounce back, however, reaching the Final Four with a freshman Kemba Walker the following season.

Also on this date: 1998, North Carolina 75, UConn 64

A memorable run for the Huskies came to an end in the Elite Eight as Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison and North Carolina outlasted this UConn team led by Richard Hamilton, Khalid El-Amin et al. This was two days after Hamilton had hit one of the most iconic shots in history, beating Washington on a last-ditch buzzer beater in the Sweet 16. Though they came up just short in ’98, the Huskies would go on to win the national title the following season.

Our readers weigh in

1999, UConn beats Duke, shocks the world: “My wife and I were there. Walking into Tropicana Field you could tell who the Duke fans were. Their attitude, their smugness was palpable. They were so sure their perennial top-ranked, blue-blood basketball team would handily beat those upstart guys from Connecticut. But they didn’t. Those underdog, underrated Huskies, for the first time ever, won the NCAA Basketball Championship. It was the most exciting sporting event I had ever attended.”

– Ken Boudreau, Farmington

Share a memory

What’s your favorite UConn March Madness memory? Whether you were in the stands or on your couch, tell us the Husky hoops story that you’re always sharing with your friends and family. We’ll take a look at our responses and run some of the best in print and online. Remember, brevity is always best, so keep it short and sweet. Send your thoughts to sports@courant.com and be sure to include your name and town.