What are the best UConn men's basketball teams of all time? We all know about the national championship teams, but taking all factors into account, you could make a strong case that the 1994-95 team belongs close to the top of the list. Led by Ray Allen and featuring a lineup that included UConn greats like Kevin Ollie, Doron Sheffer, Donny Marshall and Travis Knight, the 94-95 Huskies were the first team in program history to be ranked No. 1 in the country, and their rise really started in this early season win over No. 6 ranked Duke.

Taking on their old nemesis in the Great Eight Tournament at the Palace of Auburn Hills near Detroit, UConn finally got the monkey off their backs, beating Coach K's Blue Devils for the first time. The Huskies led almost the whole game, with Allen (26 points) and Ollie (24 points) putting on a clinic to help serve notice that even without the NBA-bound Donyell Marshall, the Huskies were still a force to be reckoned with.

Longtime Hartford Courant beat writer Ken Davis joins the show to talk about this game, that season and how UConn was able to elevate itself into the national spotlight in the mid-1990s, going from a regional program to one capable of bringing in top players across the nation and the globe.

Like what you hear? Want to offer feedback? Feel free to reach out at [email protected]. You can also find me on Twitter at @MacCerullo.

Podcast artwork courtesy of Jon Kulakofsky/The Daily Campus 2014.

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