Only 7.87% of people predicted the No. 2 UConn Huskies to reach the national championship game, based on 26.6 million brackets submitted for the men’s NCAA Tournament (via SportsCenter).
Charles Barkley was not one of them.
Barkley and his Inside the NBA cohorts Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson joined Bruce Pearl and Clark Kellogg for the pregame broadcast ahead of UConn beating No. 3 Illinois in the Final Four.
Smith said UConn has “the heart of a champion” and cited the Huskies’ experience as an advantage. Barkley said, “I don’t believe that at all,” adding that the experience narrative was “overrated.”
After the Huskies won to reach their third national championship game in four years, UConn head coach Dan Hurley used his press conference to seemingly let Barkley know he saw his comments.
“I just couldn’t be more proud of my guys and how hard they fought when most people probably didn’t think we were gonna win the game,” Hurley said. “Or, at least a little bit of what I saw on TV today. You know, TNT and some of the different prognostications. It was great to win the game, and I had to throw some shade.”
The TBS and TNT broadcasts aired that clip of Hurley during halftime of No. 1 Arizona and No. 1 Michigan’s Final Four game.
“No offense taken, I’m sure?” Johnson said while looking toward Barkley.
“Not at all,” Barkley said, later adding, “If he wants some ammunition, whoever wins this game, I’m picking ’em Monday night, too, little man! Monday night, I’m taking the winner of this game, little man.”
To be fair to Barkley, he complimented Hurley and Conn after their 71-62 victory over Illinois.
“This was a complete, complete team win, and, hey, it’s gonna be very — I’m ready for this next game,” Barkley said. “But congratulations to UConn. That was a great team win.”
UConn’s Final Four win was the men’s basketball program’s 19th consecutive win in the Sweet 16 or later. Hurley and the Huskies are one win away from their third national title in four years, having won back-to-back in 2023 and 2024.
UConn will face No. 1 Michigan in the men’s national championship game beginning at 8:50 p.m. EST at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday night.
