|
|
03/28/24 09:54:00
Printable Page
03/28 21:52 CDT Top-seeded UConn blows through another opponent, beating San
Diego State 82-52 to reach Elite Eight
Top-seeded UConn blows through another opponent, beating San Diego State 82-52
to reach Elite Eight
By JIMMY GOLEN
AP Sports Writer
BOSTON (AP) --- The rematch turned into another UConn mismatch.
Stephon Castle had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the defending NCAA champions,
and the top-seeded Huskies advanced to the Elite Eight with another
double-digit victory, beating San Diego State 82-52 on Thursday night in a
rematch of last year's title game.
Cam Spencer scored 18 points and Tristen Newton added 17 points and seven
rebounds for UConn (34-3), who will play the winner of the other East Region
semifinal between No. 2 Iowa State and No. 3 Illinois for a spot in the Final
Four in Glendale, Arizona.
A year after cruising to their fifth national championship --- winning their
six NCAA Tournament games by an average of almost 20 points --- the Huskies
followed up blowouts last weekend with their ninth straight double-digit March
Madness victory.
They have won by 39, 17 and 30 points in this tournament.
"We suck at winning close games," UConn coach Dan Hurley said. "You've got to
go with the alternative."
Backed by a virtual home crowd at TD Garden --- Boston is about 90 miles from
their Storrs, Connecticut, campus --- the Huskies made it a double-digit lead
early in the second half, 20 with about seven minutes left and 30 in the final
minutes, after the teams sent in their benches. Hurley's son Andrew even got
into the game with 1:44 left, drawing a celebratory cheer.
"It means a lot just to be able to travel with our fans. ... I feel like it
gives us kind of a boost, a little bit of an advantage," Castle said. "We tried
to make it like ?Storrs North.' They showed out for us, and it was definitely
electric in there tonight."
Seven-footer Donovan Clingan, who played just 23 minutes after getting into
foul trouble, had eight points and eight rebounds for UConn, which matched a
school record for victories. The Huskies trailed for just 28 seconds in the
game and earned the largest victory in the Sweet 16 since Kansas beat Purdue
98-66 in 2017.
"I think the group, we have killer instincts. We play every possession with
great desperation," Hurley said. "Obviously, we're very comfortable in
tournament play."
Jaedon LeDee scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half and Micah Parrish
scored 10 for fifth-seeded San Diego State, which followed up the only Final
Four appearance in school history with another Sweet 16 run.
But for the second straight year, the Aztecs (26-11) ran into UConn.
"It's not the ending we're going to remember; it's the journey. Because the
journey is everything," San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. "We've been
on an incredible journey together.
"They're 7-2 on college basketball's biggest stage over the last two years.
It's something to take great pride in," Dutcher said. "If losing a basketball
game is the worst thing that's going to happen in your life, you're going to
have a fantastic life."
UConn is the first defending champion to reach the Elite Eight since Florida
won it all in 2006 and '07. No team has won repeat titles since.
"It's kind of been against the odds in terms of the season we're having,
following up the national championship with an even better season," Hurley
said. "This team has defied what past champions have done and taken this
program to a completely different level."
UConn took its first 10-point lead before the midpoint of a first half in which
both teams went cold about 10 minutes in. After opening a 27-16 lead with 11
minutes left, UConn shot 6 for 28 to finish the half --- and still took a
nine-point lead into the break.
The Huskies went up by double digits for good in the opening minutes of the
second half when Newton --- thanks to an offensive rebound and assist from
Clingan --- hit a 3-pointer to make it 45-33. Up 17 with eight minutes left,
UConn scored the next nine points to pull away.
UConn won last year's championship game 76-59 and also beat the Aztecs in the
2011 Sweet 16, with Kemba Walker scoring 36 points to set a tournament record
and beat Kawhi Leonard's San Diego State. The Huskies went on to win the
school's third national championship.
UConn won it all again in 2014. Last year, the Huskies made it five, pulling
away after leading by five points with five minutes left to beat San Diego
State 76-59.
"Either they're better or we're worse, I don't know," Dutcher said. "Yeah,
they're good. They're connected. ... They're an outstanding team and will be
very dangerous down the road."
UP NEXT
The Huskies reached the Elite Eight for the 13th time. The last time they made
it this far and didn't win it all was in 2009, when Jim Calhoun's team lost to
Michigan State in the national semifinal.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
|