UConn and Syracuse may be longtime rivals, but that didn’t stop Hall of Fame coach Jim Boeheim from sharing his opinion that the Huskies might be the best team in the country.
Boeheim, who retired from coaching after Syracuse lost in the ACC tournament, joined host Dave Coombs on Lazer 99.3 radio to discuss the NCAAs and didn’t shy away from praising UConn.
He picked the Huskies to beat Arkansas in the Sweet 16 on Thursday and then said they’ve got the team to win it all.
“I think they may be the best all-around team because of the inside game,” Boeheim said. “I don’t think anybody has a player like (Adama) Sanogo, I just don’t see that guy. And they have shooting, a couple of really good shooters. Good ballhandling, a defensive presence. I think you can make a case that Connecticut is the best team, easily. That doesn’t mean they’re going to win, but they might have the best all-around team in terms of a team that can win the national championship.”
Boeheim knows about winning championships, although not as much as his former rival Jim Calhoun does (the final tally there is 3-1).
He also said he likes No. 1 seeds Houston and Alabama to get to the Final Four and praised UCLA, who the Huskies would match up with in the Elite Eight if both teams win on Thursday in Las Vegas.
“The four teams … Houston, Alabama, Connecticut, UCLA, I mean those four teams have to be the teams I would pick. I’ll probably be wrong, because that’s college basketball,” he said.