BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The Connecticut males’s basketball workforce is now simply 4 wins away from repeating as nationwide champions.
The highest-ranked Huskies cruised to a 75-58 victory over No. 9 Northwestern on Sunday night time to advance to the Candy 16, the place they may play No. 5 seed San Diego State in Boston on Thursday. Courting again to final season, UConn has gained 29 of its final 30 video games towards nonconference opponents and all 29 wins got here by double digits.
Final season, the Huskies gained their six video games within the NCAA Event by a median of 20.0 factors, the fourth-largest common margin of victory because the NCAA Event expanded to 64 groups in 1985. By two video games this 12 months, UConn is thrashing its opponents by a median of 28 factors.
Discuss dominance.
UConn’s massive three of Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer and Donovan Clingan accounted for 45 factors. Clingan completed with a 14-14 double-double to associate with an astonishing eight blocks, whereas Newton posted a game-high 20 factors and 10 assists.
“We’ve got a giant image that we need to get to and we have now to take it one step at a time,” Newton mentioned. “Attending to the Candy 16 is one other step to our foremost aim, and it feels good.”
The Huskies had been in such management of Sunday night time’s recreation that there was zero doubt about its end result … despite the fact that UConn shot 3-of-22 from past the arc (13.6 p.c). It didn’t matter one bit, particularly with the benefit with which its gamers might rating inside. Fifty-two of UConn’s 75 factors got here within the paint.
“We’re bulletproof,” UConn coach Dan Hurley mentioned when requested in regards to the groups’ dominant wins. “Elite offense, elite protection. Didn’t love the offensive rebounding in the present day and didn’t love the second-half defensive rebounding however, once more, 20 assists, seven turnovers, one participant had 14-14-8, level guard had 20-10. It’s powerful to lose when you’ve that stage of high quality.”
Connecticut is making an attempt to turn into the primary workforce since Florida in 2006 and 2007 to win back-to-back nationwide championships.
“They’ve all of the components to win one other championship,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins mentioned. “There’s no query about it.”
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(Photograph: Elsa / Getty Pictures)