Holy Huskies! UConn Takes 2014 NCAA Men's Basketball Title

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Connecticut forward DeAndre Daniels, and guard Niels Giffey celebrate after their team beat Kentucky 60-54 at the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball championship game Monday, April 7, 2014, in Arlington, Texas.

Image: David J. Phillip/Associated Press

By Sam Laird2014-04-08 04:25:39 UTC

Kid Rock got things off to an awkward start with his pre-game concert, but Shabazz Napier, Ryan Boatright and the Connecticut Huskies put on a proper show once the ball was tipped in Monday night's NCAA men's basketball championship game.

Napier, the feisty senior guard who won a title as a freshman three years ago behind the heroics of then-senior Kemba Walker, finished his own magical March Madness run in style, totaling 22 points and six rebounds while playing 39 of a possible 40 minutes in a 60-54 win over Kentucky.

Junior guard Boatright, who shares Napier's lack of height and abundance of quickness, played a stellar supporting role with 14 points, three assists and three rebounds of his own. Together, they helped Huskies coach Kevin Ollie earn his first championship in his first year of eligibility (UConn was banned from March Madness last year, Ollie's first season as head coach, for past violations).

UConn was seeded seventh to start the tournament, then went on an upset run that began in the second round against two-seed Villanova, and continued through a Final Four win over one-seed Florida to set up Monday's matchup against Kentucky.

Ollie's Huskies got the historic win, but it was Kentucky's James Young — while leading the Wildcats' losing cause with 20 points — who won Twitter with this absolutely incredible second-half dunk:

After the final buzzer, Napier fell to his knees on the court of AT&T Stadium — where an NCAA-record 79,238 people were in attendance — while crying tears of joy.

But what's a major American sporting event without a little post-game interview drama? Much like Richard Sherman after this year's Super Bowl, Napier used his post-game moment to lash out at the NCAA for banning UConn last season because of poor overall academic performance under Ollie's predecessor, legendary coach Jim Calhoun.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you’re looking at the hungry Huskies, this is what happens when you ban us, last year, two years, we worked so hard for it, two years ...” Napier said before CBS cameras cut away.

Earlier Monday, a tweet purporting to show a notice posted by a stodgy UConn dormitory residential advisor went quasi-viral in online sports circles. The RA, named Derek, told eager young students to "please go ... somewhere else to watch the game" because "midnight quiet hours still apply here, so please responsibly go nuts elsewhere."

Is that notice real? We can't say for sure. But here's one thing we can say for sure: Derek, if you're out there, you don't stand a chance tonight, buddy.

Meanwhile, only 11 more months until March 2015! Start the countdown now.