1998–99 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team

1998–99 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball
1998–99 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions; Big East tournament champions; Big East regular season champions
National Championship Game, ; W 77–74 vs. Duke
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 3
Record	34–2 (16–2 Big East)
Head coach	Jim Calhoun (13th season);
Assistant coaches	Karl Hobbs; Tom Moore; Dave Leitao;
Home arena	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion; Hartford Civic Center
	Seasons ← 1997–98 1999–2000 →

1998–99 Big East men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 3 Connecticut†	16	–	2	.889	34	–	2	.944
No. 10 Miami (FL)	15	–	3	.833	23	–	7	.767
No. 9 St. John's	14	–	4	.778	28	–	9	.757
Syracuse	10	–	8	.556	21	–	12	.636
Villanova	10	–	8	.556	21	–	11	.656
Rutgers	9	–	9	.500	19	–	13	.594
Providence	9	–	9	.500	16	–	14	.533
Notre Dame	8	–	10	.444	14	–	16	.467
Seton Hall	8	–	10	.444	15	–	15	.500
Georgetown	6	–	12	.333	15	–	16	.484
Pittsburgh	5	–	13	.278	14	–	16	.467
West Virginia	4	–	14	.222	10	–	19	.345
Boston College	3	–	15	.167	6	–	21	.222

† 1999 Big East tournament winner As of March 29, 1999^[1] Rankings from AP Poll

The 1998–1999 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 1998–1999 NCAA Division I basketball season. Coached by Jim Calhoun, the Huskies played their home games at the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and on campus at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut, and were a member of the Big East Conference. They won their fourth Big East tournament with a victory over St. John's 82–63.

In the 1999 NCAA Tournament the Huskies were invited as a #1 seed. With wins over Texas–San Antonio, New Mexico, Iowa and Gonzaga, UConn finally advanced to the Final Four. On March 29, 1999, they claimed their first national championship by defeating Duke 77–74.^[2]

Roster

Listed are the student athletes who were members of the 1998–1999 team.^[3]

1998–99 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	3	Rashamel Jones	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Port Chester, NY
F	15	Kevin Freeman	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	Paterson, NJ
G	21	Ricky Moore	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Augusta, GA
F/C	22	Antric Klaiber	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	Silver Spring, MD
G	23	Albert Mouring	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Preston, MD
G	25	Ed Tonella	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	Tucson, AZ
G/F	32	Richard Hamilton	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Jr	Coatesville, PA
F/C	34	Souleymane Wane	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Jr	Dakar, Senegal
G	35	Richard Moore	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Hamden, CT
G	40	E. J. Harrison	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sr	Danbury, CT
PG	42	Khalid El-Amin	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Minneapolis, MN
C	43	Jake Voskuhl	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Jr	Houston, TX
F	51	Edmund Saunders	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	So	Waterbury, CT
F/C		Stanley Ocitti	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Fr	Kampala,Uganda

Head coach

Jim Calhoun

Assistant coach(es)

Karl Hobbs
Tom Moore
Dave Leitao

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
11/15/1998* WTXX	No. 2	Quinnipiac	W 102–60	1–0	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut
11/19/1998* ESPN2	No. 2	Richmond	W 77–57	2–0	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut
11/24/1998* WTXX	No. 2	Hartford	W 95–58	3–0	Hartford Civic Center (16,192) Hartford, Connecticut
11/27/1998* WTXX	No. 2	Wagner	W 111–46	4–0	Hartford Civic Center (16,024) Hartford, Connecticut
12/1/1998* ESPN	No. 1	vs. No. 14 Washington Great Eight Basketball Classic	W 69–48	5–0	United Center (19,124) Chicago
12/5/1998* CBS	No. 1	No. 9 Michigan State	W 82–68	6–0	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut
12/9/1998* ESPN	No. 1	at Massachusetts MassMutual UGame	W 59–54	7–0	William D. Mullins Memorial Center (9,493) Amherst, Massachusetts
12/12/1998 WTXX	No. 1	at No. 18 Pittsburgh	W 70–69	8–0 (1–0)	Fitzgerald Field House (6,798) Pittsburgh
12/23/1998* WTXX	No. 1	Fairfield	W 102–67	9–0	Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut
12/30/1998 WTXX	No. 1	Villanova	W 100–76	10–0 (2–0)	Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut
1/2/1999 WTXX	No. 1	Georgetown Rivalry	W 87–64	11–0 (3–0)	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,077) Storrs, Connecticut
1/6/1999 WTXX	No. 1	at Boston College	W 91–78	12–0 (4–0)	Conte Forum (8,606) Boston
1/9/1999 WTXX	No. 1	at West Virginia	W 80–45	13–0 (5–0)	WVU Coliseum (10,118) Morgantown, West Virginia
1/12/1999 WTXX	No. 1	Notre Dame	W 101–70	14–0 (6–0)	Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut
1/16/1999 WTXX	No. 1	Pittsburgh	W 81–58	15–0 (7–0)	Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut
1/20/1999 ESPN	No. 1	at No. 25 Miami	W 70–68	16–0 (8–0)	Miami Arena (15,147) Miami
1/23/1999 WTXX	No. 1	Seton Hall	W 62–47	17–0 (9–0)	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut
1/25/1999 ESPN	No. 1	at Georgetown Rivalry	W 78–71	18–0 (10–0)	MCI Center (15,964) Washington, D.C.
1/30/1999 CBS	No. 1	at No. 9 St. John's	W 78–74	19–0 (11–0)	Madison Square Garden (19,528) New York City
2/1/1999 ESPN	No. 1	No. 16 Syracuse Rivalry	L 42–59	19–1 (11–1)	Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut
2/6/1999* ABC	No. 1	at No. 4 Stanford	W 70–59	20–1	Maples Pavilion (7,391) Stanford, California
2/10/1999 WTXX	No. 2	Boston College	W 66–50	21–1 (12–1)	Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut
2/13/1999 WTXX	No. 2	at Seton Hall	W 53–48	22–1 (13–1)	Continental Airlines Arena (14,851) East Rutherford, New Jersey
2/16/1999 ESPN2	No. 2	Rutgers	W 77–64	23–1 (14–1)	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut
2/20/1999 CBS	No. 2	No. 15 Miami	L 71–73	23–2 (14–2)	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut
2/22/1999 ESPN	No. 2	at Providence	W 72–65	24–2 (15–2)	Providence Civic Center (12,993) Providence, Rhode Island
2/28/1999 CBS	No. 4	at No. 20 Syracuse Rivalry	W 70–58	25–2 (16–2)	Carrier Dome (30,367) Syracuse, New York
Big East tournament
3/4/1999 ESPN	(1) No. 3	vs. (9) Seton Hall Quarterfinals	W 57–56	26–2	Madison Square Garden (17,540) New York
3/5/1999 ESPN	(1) No. 3	vs. (4) Syracuse Semifinals/Rivalry	W 71–50	27–2	Madison Square Garden (19,548) New York
3/6/1999 ESPN	(1) No. 3	vs. (3) No. 10 St. John's Championship	W 82–63	28–2	Madison Square Garden (19,548) New York
NCAA tournament
3/11/1999* CBS	(1 W) No. 3	vs. (16 W) UTSA First Round	W 91–66^[4]	29–2	McNichols Sports Arena (16,237) Denver, Colorado
3/13/1999* CBS	(1 W) No. 3	vs. (9 W) No. 24 New Mexico Second Round	W 78–56^[5]	30–2	McNichols Sports Arena (16,237) Denver, Colorado
3/18/1999* CBS	(1 W) No. 3	vs. (5 W) No. 20 Iowa Sweet Sixteen	W 78–68^[6]	31–2	America West Arena (17,957) Phoenix, Arizona
3/20/1999* CBS	(1 W) No. 3	vs. (10 W) Gonzaga Elite Eight	W 67–62^[7]	32–2	America West Arena (18,053) Phoenix, Arizona
3/27/1999* CBS	(1 W) No. 3	vs. (4 S) No. 14 Ohio State Final Four	W 64–58^[8]	33–2	Tropicana Field (41,340) St. Petersburg, Florida
3/29/1999* CBS	(1 W) No. 3	vs. (1 E) No. 1 Duke National Championship	W 77–74^[2]	34–2	Tropicana Field (41,340) St. Petersburg, Florida
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Schedule Source:^[9]^[10]

Media

Local Radio
Flagship station	Play–by–play	Color commentator	Studio host
WTIC–AM 1080	Joe D'Ambrosio	Wayne Norman

Awards and honors

Richard Hamilton, NCAA Men's MOP Award^[11]

Team players drafted into the NBA

Year	Round	Pick	Player	NBA club
1999^[12]	1	7	Richard Hamilton	Washington Wizards
2000^[13]	2	33	Jake Voskuhl	Chicago Bulls
2000	2	34	Khalid El-Amin	Chicago Bulls

References

↑ "1998-99 Big East Conference Season Summary". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
1 2 "Yes, UConn!". The Tampa Bay Times. March 30, 1999. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
↑ "1998-99 UConn Huskies Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
↑ "Connecticut 91, Tex.-San Antonio 66". UPI Archives. March 12, 1999. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
↑ "Punchless New Mexico Is KO'd Early by Connecticut". Los Angeles Times. March 14, 1999. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
↑ "Connecticut Gets It Together to Finish Off Iowa and Davis". The Los Angeles Times. March 19, 1999. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
↑ "Final Four Gets Its First Two". The Washington Post. March 21, 1999. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
↑ "Connecticut Steps Over Ohio State on Its Way to the Final". The New York Times. March 28, 1999. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
↑ 2015-16 Connecticut Basketball History (PDF). UConn Huskies. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
↑ "Connecticut Men's Basketball Archive Schedule". UConn Huskies. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.
↑ "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
↑ "1999 NBA Draft on". Databasebasketball.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.
↑ "2000 NBA Draft on". Databasebasketball.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.

[1] "1998-99 Big East Conference Season Summary". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 1, 2019.

[ncaa-title-2] 1 2 "Yes, UConn!". The Tampa Bay Times. March 30, 1999. Retrieved March 23, 2025.

[3] "1998-99 UConn Huskies Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 1, 2019.

[4] "Connecticut 91, Tex.-San Antonio 66". UPI Archives. March 12, 1999. Retrieved March 23, 2025.

[5] "Punchless New Mexico Is KO'd Early by Connecticut". Los Angeles Times. March 14, 1999. Retrieved March 23, 2025.

[6] "Connecticut Gets It Together to Finish Off Iowa and Davis". The Los Angeles Times. March 19, 1999. Retrieved March 23, 2025.

[7] "Final Four Gets Its First Two". The Washington Post. March 21, 1999. Retrieved March 23, 2025.

[8] "Connecticut Steps Over Ohio State on Its Way to the Final". The New York Times. March 28, 1999. Retrieved March 23, 2025.

[cstv-9] 2015-16 Connecticut Basketball History (PDF). UConn Huskies. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2016.

[10] "Connecticut Men's Basketball Archive Schedule". UConn Huskies. Archived from the original on March 11, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2016.

[Tourney_History-11] "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.

[12] "1999 NBA Draft on". Databasebasketball.com. Archived from the original on May 22, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.

[13] "2000 NBA Draft on". Databasebasketball.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2013.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

v t e UConn Huskies men's basketball
Venues	Willis Nichols Hawley Armory (1914–1954) Hugh S. Greer Field House (1954–1989) PeoplesBank Arena (1975–present) New Haven Coliseum (1978–1987) Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (1990–present) Webster Bank Arena (2013–2014)
Rivalries	Georgetown Syracuse UMass
Culture & lore	Blue blood status Gambling scandal Jonathan the Husky 6-overtime game 2011 Miracle Run
People	Head coaches Huskies of Honor Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 2026–27
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics