When No. 1 seed Duke and No. 2 seed UConn square off Sunday in the Elite Eight, it will be a battle between “the two best college basketball programs on the men’s side in the last 30 years,” according to Huskies coach Dan Hurley.

Is he right?

It depends on the criteria, but if you’re basing it exclusively off national championships and draw the line back a little longer than just 30 years, Hurley is spot on. Going back to Duke’s first national championship in 1991 and drawing a line until present day, the two programs have combined for 11 titles.

Battle of the Bigs: Boozer vs. Reed sets up March Madness’ ultimate heavyweight throwback

Cameron Salerno

UConn is first over that span with six titles while Duke is just behind with five. The unique part of UConn’s success is that it has transcended over three coaching regimes with Jim Calhoun, Kevin Ollie and Hurley each cutting down the nets.

Fourth-year Duke coach Jon Scheyer is seeking to become the first Blue Devils coach not named Mike Krzyzewski to lead the Blue Devils to a national title.

Based on overall victories, NCAA Tournament appearances and Final Four appearances, UConn has been a bit spottier over the past 3+ decades than some of its blue-blood brethren. Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Duke and North Carolina have each made eight Final Fours since the 1990-91 season compared to seven for UConn. But when the Huskies win, they win big.

Only once in program history – in 2009 – have the Huskies reached the Final Four without winning it all. Duke has been to more Final Fours (10) since the dawn of the 1990s than anyone except North Carolina (12) and has cut the nets at a 60% clip when going. The Tar Heels own four titles in that time frame.

“I think it speaks to just the university, the commitment that Duke makes to basketball, the commitment that UConn makes to the sport, how important it is to both universities, how much of a part of the identity (basketball is) of the universities,” Hurley said. “Obviously they’re both world class institutions, but basketball is critically important.”

Breakdown of program achievements since 1990-91 season

Spanning Ollie’s six-year tenure and the first two seasons of Hurley’s tenure, UConn made just two NCAA Tournament appearances and was no better than a No. 7 seed for either. Granted, one of those seasons (2014) resulted in an unexpected national title run. But for seven seasons in that eight-year span, the Huskies were relegated to the AAC, and it brought a downturn. Since returning to the Big East for the 2020-21 season, UConn has been a mainstay in the Big Dance.

The trip through college basketball’s wilderness in the first several years of the post-Calhoun era set UConn back in terms of overall wins. The Huskies entered Saturday’s action at No. 7 nationally in victories since the 1990-91 season with 875 while Duke ranks first over that span with 1,026 wins.

But in the game’s modern era no programs have been the last team standing more frequently than Duke and UConn. Now they will meet with another trip to the Final Four on the line. If history is any indication, the winner will be well-positioned to be the last team standing yet again.”

“It’s a pretty cool matchup,” Hurley said.