The UConn men’s basketball team is set to embark on their 2026 NCAA Tournament journey, which they hope will culminate with a third national title in four years. Although the Huskies didn’t win the Big East regular season or tournament titles and enter the Big Dance without much momentum, they can take heart in the fact that nonconference success– and a 22-1 start– has them on the No. 2 seed line.
UConn has earned a No. 2 seed six previous times in its history, and the Huskies have a pretty good track record of going deep into the dance when they do. The program is 18-5 as a 2-seed, including three trips to the Elite Eight and the 2004 national title.
Here’s a look at the Huskies’ history as a 2-seed in March Madness.
1994: Reached Sweet 16
This was a young team littered with NBA talent, but they were still just Husky pups (a recurring theme here). Led by a freshman Ray Allen, juniors Donny and Donyell Marshall and Kevin Ollie, and freshman Doron Sheffer, these Huskies went 27-4 in the regular season and 16-2 in the Big East, earning the regular season conference title. In a foreshadowing of what would happen later in the month though, they were upset in the Big East tournament by Providence, led then by a trio of future NBAers in Eric Williams, Michael Smith and Dickey Simpkins.
UConn cruised past No. 15 seed Rider in the first round of the NCAAs and made light work of No. 10 George Washington in Round 2. But despite earning a 2-seed, UConn had to meet up with No. 3 seed Florida in Miami in the Sweet 16, and the Gators shut the Huskies down in the second half and pulled away for a 69-60 win in overtime. Making the loss sting even more was the fact that Florida would go on to beat a Cinderella Boston College squad, which reached the Elite Eight as a No. 9 seed, to reach the Final Four. The Gators lost to Duke, 70-65 in the national semis, and Arkansas won the whole thing.
UConn men’s team
1995: Reached Elite Eight
Hardened by the Sweet 16 loss the year before, these Huskies bounced back to post an identical 16-2 record in the Big East, regular season champs again, and went 25-4 overall. It was virtually the same team as the season before, outside of the loss of Donyell Marshall, who left school early for the NBA. Ray Allen made a big leap as a sophomore, averaging 21.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. UConn reached the Big East final but was undone there by Kerry Kittles and Villanova.
The Huskies were sent out West to start the Dance, and they waltzed to wins over Chattanooga, Cincinnati and Maryland. They met up with No. 1 seed UCLA in Oakland in the Regional Final, but were outlasted in a thriller by Toby Bailey Jr., (26 points) Tyus Edney (22), Ed and Charles O’Bannon (15,10) and the eventual national champion Bruins, 102-96.
NCAA Tournament UConn men’s team ORG XMIT: GBC122
1998: Reached Elite Eight
By this time, UConn head coach Jim Calhoun had the unfair “monkey on his back” metaphor following him around, as despite all of his success, he hadn’t yet reached the Final Four. This team look like a contender to do it, although the Huskies were again young— led by a sophomore Richard Hamilton, freshman Khalid El-Amin, sophomore Kevin Freeman and junior Ricky Moore. UConn won the Big East regular season title at 15-3, 29-4 overall. This time though, they punctuated it with a Big East tournament title.
The Huskies earned a 2-seed in the East region, and were given all they could handle in the first round by NEC champion Fairleigh Dickinson, which got a ridiculous 43 points from 6-1 guard Elijah Allen. Hamilton scored 30, and El-Amin had 28 to avoid the upset. The Huskies got past Indiana in the second round, then authored one of the most memorable moments in UConn basketball history against No. 11 Washington in the Sweet 16. You may remember play-by-play announcer Sean McDonough’s call — HAMILTON, NO– HAMILTON AT THE BUZZER, YES!!
Trailing by one with seconds to go, Jake Voskhul first missed a short jumper– the rebound came out to Richard Hamilton, who misfired on a runner– it bounced back out to Hamilton again, who hit a falling down fadeaway as time expired– truly one of the great moments in Huskies history.
The incredible run came to an end at the hands of Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison and top-seed North Carolina in the Elite Eight, but the Huskies paid it off the following season with their first-ever national title.
Breaking down UConn’s March Madness draw as No. 2 seed in East Region
2002: Reached Elite Eight
Another young, almost-ready-for-prime-time Huskies team, led by a sophomore Caron Butler, freshmen Ben Gordon and Emeka Okafor and sophomore Taliek Brown cruised to a Big East regular season title (24-5, 13-3), where they outlasted Pittsburgh in a double-overtime classic, thanks to a near-half-court shot by Brown to beat the shot clock buzzer and seal the win.
UConn defeated Hampton, NC State and a Cinderella Southern Illinois squad in the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament, though as in ’95 and ’98, fell victim to an experience No. 1 seed in Maryland in the Elite Eight. That Terrapins team, led by Juan Dixon, Lonny Baxter and Chris Wilcox, went on to win the national title.
UConn men’s team
2004: Won National Title
Led by Okafor and Gordon, it can be argued that this UConn team was the clear-cut best in the nation all season long, but that it just got bored with its own dominance sometimes. The Huskies started the season as the No. 1-ranked team, on the cover of Sports Illustrated along with the UConn women, and they cruise-controlled their way to a 27-4 record, but lost the Big East regular season title by a game to Pittsburgh. UConn would avenge that in the conference title game, however, beating the Panthers 61-58.
Once the tournament started, it was lights-out. Much like the 2023 and ’24 Huskies, few opponents even came close. UConn beat Vermont and DePaul each by 17, Vanderbilt by 20 and Alabama by 16 to reach the Final Four. They had to outlast J.J. Redick, Luol Deng and No. 1 seed Duke in the national semis, and were hurt by two early fouls called on Okafor. But a second-half charge overturned a late eight-point deficit and gave the Huskies a 79-78 win. They’d go on to cruise past Georgia Tech, 82-73, in a game they led by 25 at one point, to win their second national title.
2005: Reached Second Round
A championship hangover seemed to doom these Huskies, who were loaded with NBA talent– Charlie Villanueva, Josh Boone, Rudy Gay, Marcus Williams and Hilton Armstrong– but seemed to lack the leader they needed to push past adversity.
UConn (22-7, 13-3) shared the Big East regular season title with Boston College, but fell to Syracuse in the conference semis. The Huskies never really got things going come NCAA Tournament time, struggling with No. 15 seed Central Florida before pulling out a 77-71 win and then falling victim to Julius Hodge and No. 10 seed NC State in the second round.
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