When the University of Connecticut lost their last game of the period to Notre Dame-and with it a first round bye in the Big East Tournament-most supposed that the path the Huskies faced to win a championship was just too arduous. It was a tough road, demanding five wins in five days, but that\’s exactly what the UConn Huskies did-they finished the match gauntlet on Saturday with a 69-66 win over Louisville in the championship game.

College basketball gambling enthusiasts who went beside the \’money\’ that pushed Louisville to a +3\’ point favorite were recompensed with the UConn victory. The win improved the Huskies\’ record against the spread to 18-11 including a solid 9-3 ATS as an enhanced underdog. They\’ve been money in the bank in neutral court games, with Saturday\’s consequence pushing their record in that position to a perfect 8-0 both straight up and against the spread. Louisville dropped to 19-11 ATS and 15-8 ATS as a favorite. The combined 135 points scored just managed to stay UNDER the posted total of 136.

Once the title was in the bag, tournament MVP Kemba Walker admitted he was tired:

\”Now that\’s it over I can definitely tell you I was exhausted. With about 2 minutes left I was gassed. I just wanted to win this game so bad my heart took over.\”

UConn coach Jim Calhoun had this praise for Walker:

\”He is as particular as any player I\’ve ever coached. No one\’s going to surpass him. They may identical him but no one is going to surpass him. … Five games in five days, he\’s amazing.\”

Calhoun continued to give props to the rest of the roster:

\”What these kids have accomplished this week has been as affecting for me as anything I could probably think of. Whatever was asked of them, they did. Their heart took over, their determination to win, and their skill level. I couldn\’t be more proud of them.\”

Bronx native Walker said that winning the title at Madison Square Garden made it all the more particular:

\”For me it was incredible, because I\’m at home, playing in front of the greatest fans in the world. My family, my friends. Words can\’t even express it.\”

Connecticut gets the Big East\’s routine bid to the NCAA tournament and winning their meeting title has been a good harbinger for the Huskies-in the six previous manifestations in the \’Big Dance\’ as conference champs they\’ve been successful of two national championship and have never done worse than a \’Sweet Sixteen\’ appearance.