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Notes: UConn again stars in underdog role

The Connecticut Huskies lost their coach, their teammates, their chance to play at the NCAA Tournament for a year. They were castoffs, unwanted mutts without a home, told they had no chance.

Well, look who’s woofing now.

Playing with a chip-on-their-shoulder mentality and poise down the stretch, UConn starred in the underdog role for the second time in four years, knocking off Kentucky, 60-54, Monday night in North Texas.

‘‘It feels so good to prove the world wrong,’’ UConn junior guard Ryan Boatright said.

It was quite a journey to get here.

UConn won a national title in 2011 behind do-it-all guard Kemba Walker. One setback after another followed.

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Coach Jim Calhoun retired in 2012. Players left the program, three who transferred away and two who left for the NBA.

The Huskies were barred from the 2013 tournament for failing to meet NCAA academic standards. They scrambled to find a home after the Big East blew up, landing in the American Athletic Conference.

UConn fought its way through last season, winning 20 games despite no hope of playing in the postseason, yet still was dismissed heading into this season.

The Huskies turned a few heads with an opening nine-game winning streak, but were given little chance of making a run after stumbling late in the season. Of the 11.01 million brackets submitted on ESPN.com, only 0.3 percent picked them to win it all.

UConn continued to go against the grain of public opinion as it advanced through the bracket, beating the odds while knocking off Villanova, Iowa State, Michigan State, and top-seeded Florida to reach the championship game.

Again, the Huskies were not supposed to win, told they were no match for the length and athleticism of Kentucky’s one-and-done freshmen, expected to get run over by those speedy ‘Cats.

Again, they wouldn’t listen.

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Relying on its veteran leaders, UConn jumped to a big early lead, kept its composure whenever Kentucky tried to make a run and counterpunched every time the Wildcats landed a blow.

Senior Shabazz Napier took what he learned from Walker, his mentor, and became the leader who took the Huskies to a title, finishing with 22 points and six rebounds to bookend his career with national titles.

Gritty Boatright gave Kentucky fits at both ends all night, scoring 14 points while teaming with Napier to lock down the Wildcats’ heralded twins, Aaron and Andrew Harrison.

Kevin Ollie proved a more-than-able caretaker of the program Calhoun built, creating his own legacy by becoming the first coach to win a national title within two years on his first Division 1 job since Michigan’s Steve Fisher in 1989.

When it was over and the confetti fell, the seventh-seeded Huskies were on top of the college basketball for the fourth time as a program.

UConn is lowest seed to win a national title since Rollie Massimino and eighth-seeded Villanova won it in 1985. The Huskies are the first team since Arizona in 1997 to win a national championship without winning a conference regular-season or tournament title.

Napier honored

UConn has added a plaque with Napier’s name on it to the school’s Huskies of Honor wall inside Gampel Pavilion.

The Roxbury native will be the 19th men’s player added to the wall, which honors the top teams, players, coaches and administrators in UConn basketball history.

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The senior All-American also won this year’s Bob Cousy award, which goes to the best point guard in the nation.

Napier led the team in scoring, assists, and steals and was second in rebounding.

Kentucky rumors

Kentucky’s talented freshmen shed a shaky regular season and then showed why the Wildcats were picked No. 1 in the preseason with an impressive run to the NCAA championship game. After falling short, the annual question is which Kentucky player(s) will leave for the NBA, including John Calipari.

The fifth-year Kentucky coach is used to inquiries, but former Kentucky player Rex Chapman turned up the heat Monday by tweeting that Calipari coaching the Los Angeles Lakers was a ‘‘done deal.’’ The Lakers denied the rumor, and while Calipari said later that he planned to be back at Kentucky, he didn’t completely dismiss the scenario.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Kentucky (29-11) loses forward Julius Randle. Several of his teammates also are going to mull over their pro prospects.

Calipari didn’t address the NBA issue during Tuesday’s brief celebration before 3,500 at Rupp Arena in which the runner-up banner hung from the rafters. But he responded to Chapman’s comment after the game by saying, ‘‘The Lakers have a basketball coach. Kentucky has a basketball coach. I got the best job in the country. I'm not even going to dignify that stuff.’’

NBA bound

North Carolina State sophomore T.J. Warren is entering the NBA draft. In a statement released by the school, the Atlantic Coast Conference’s player of the year said he had ‘‘a fun ride’’ but was ready for the NBA. The 6-foot-8-inch forward led the league at 24.9 points per game while shooting a league-best 52.5 percent.

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Manning time

Wake Forest hopes it doesn’t need a miracle. Just Danny Manning. The former Kansas star is taking over the project of rebuilding the Demon Deacons. Manning said during his introduction that he’s ‘‘looking forward to establishing our new foundation for Wake Forest.’’ Wake hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2010 and had three straight losing seasons before finishing 17-16 this year . . . North Dakota State promoted David Richman, giving the 35-year-old his first head coaching job. Richman takes over for Saul Phillips, who took the top job at Ohio after leading the Bison to their first win in the NCAA Tournament this season . . . Royce Waltman, Bob Knight’s right-hand man who captivated Indiana’s fans with his folksy attitude and a penchant for winning, died at age 72 after a long battle with health problems, said his wife Carole.