UConn had not won an NCAA Tournament game in seven years. Dan Hurley hadn’t reached the second week of the tournament in his first 12 years as a Division I head coach. The Huskies, unranked in the preseason, lost six of eight games as January came to a close.

Now, UConn is atop college basketball again.

Despite enduring the toughest fight of a sweat-free tournament run, No. 4 UConn claimed the fifth national championship in school history — and first since 2014 — with a 76-59 win over No. 5 San Diego State on Monday night in Houston.

More than three decades after his older brother, Bobby, became a star on back-to-back national title teams at Duke, Hurley couldn’t be certain he would cut down a net when a 16-point lead was sliced to five, but the Huskies defense held the Aztecs to four points in the final 5:18.