GLENDALE, Ariz. โ The No. 1 overall seed UConn men's basketball team, facing its first real challenge this NCAA Tournament, defeated No. 4 Alabama 86-72 in the Final Four on Saturday.
The Huskies (36-3) will face Zach Eady and No. 1 Purdue (34-4) in Monday's title game, seeking to become the first back-to-back national champions since Florida in 2006-07. UW is 11-1 overall in the Final Four and 5-0 overall in the national championship game, both of which are his first since 1999.
Playing in front of a crowd of 74,720 at State Farm Stadium, freshman Stephon Castle thrived on the elevated stage. The projected lottery pick tied his career-high 21 points to lead the Huskies and grabbed five rebounds. Donovan Clingan, who is also expected to be the top pick, recorded 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
All five varsity starters finished in double figures, with Alex Karaban and Cam Spencer each grabbing 14 and eight rebounds, and Tristen Newton grabbing 12 rebounds.
“Our identity is that we're pretty relentless. We might not break 18 or 25 minutes, but at some point, if the level of what we're doing on both ends and the backboard is high, It's going to be difficult for opposing teams to maintain that,” coach Dan Hurley said. “There's an element of the team right now where they're watching us play, watching us run away. I think the other team is disappointed because they've seen it and what we're doing. Because I've seen it many times.”
Dom Amore: The University of Alabama made its boys work hard, but the Huskies are on the brink of history.
The goal that clinched Saturday's game didn't come until the score was tied with 12 minutes left in the second half. Castle made two free throws followed by a layup, Spencer hit a Samson Johnson dunk, Karavan attacked the offensive glass for a second-chance bucket and the Huskies had 10 minutes, 27 seconds left. The difference was 8 points. Call timeout.
The Tide was unable to reduce the point difference to less than six for the rest of the game as the University Con continued to deliver blows that stuck it out.
The 14-point victory extended UConn's NCAA Tournament record to 11 straight wins in double digits.
The Huskies trailed for a total of 4 minutes and 18 seconds in the first half, with the lead changing hands seven times and tied five times. It was the first time they played a comeback since the first five minutes of the Sweet 16 against San Diego State, which they ended up winning by 30 points.
Castle got off to an early start and made Alabama pay for falling behind at the 3-point line, hitting a pair as Union started 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
“It went well. My teammates, they put me in great position to be successful and I saw some shots fall early on. I mean, I just got it done,” Castle said. Ta. โIt was kind of disrespectful to them to defend that far back…I thought it was a great start to the night for me.โ
Castle led all scorers at halftime with 13 points, but UW missed its next eight 3-pointers and Newton and Spencer hit a pair with five minutes left. Two layups by Newton and Spencer gave the Huskies a seven-point lead with 1:15 remaining, their largest lead of the game up to that point, but Alabama star point guard Mark Sears hit the ball in the final minute. They fought back by scoring 5 points.
Sears averaged 21.5 points per game, scoring a game-high 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting.
Alabama hit 8-of-11 3-pointers and 50% from the field in the first half, but at the time of the break, University had a four-point lead, 44-40.
“We were running into screens, dying on screens, people falling off screens and getting open shots,” said Clingan, who played with bruises on his hands. “In the second half, we got a little bit more aggressive with our hot hands, forcing people off the 3-point line. I was telling guys, just try to force it and I'll protect the rim.”
The plan worked. After intermission, UW held the Tide to just 3-of-12 from deep.
The Huskies, who led 32-0 at the half, allowed Alabama a tying goal at 56 points with 12:41 remaining, extending their lead to 8-0 in just 91 seconds. was never wasted.
Despite a flurry of fouls on Castle, Alabama went scoreless for three minutes before Clingan gave the Huskies their first double-digit lead of the night with five minutes remaining. Karaban hit a deep three to put it up to 11 points, and Clingan answered Sears' triple with two dunks to put the Huskies up 12 with less than two minutes left.
Newton and Spencer hit two 3-pointers in the final moments to put the final nail in the coffin.
“We played the full 40 minutes and were able to wear them down. “They're a tough team, they stuck with us until the last media (timeout), and I think that's what sets us apart. '' said Hassan Diarra as he sat at his locker holding a towel to collect blood from his nose after taking an elbow. slow. โWe can play the full 40 minutes, we can play guard, we can play our game on offense and we can ultimately destroy teams.โ
Like last year, there was little celebration in the Huskies' locker room after the game; Sing “Happy Birthday” to Spencer He turned 24 on Saturday. The team, which has had more birthdays than anyone else, is focused on making history.
Purdue has been claimed as the best team in the country for most of the season, along with the Huskies and Houston, and is the only team standing in their way. The Boilermakers defeated No. 11 North Carolina State 63-50 on Saturday in the first game of the Final Four, with the 7-foot-4 Eady scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
“Everyone came to college to be a part of history, and we're one step closer to that goal. But none of us in this locker room are satisfied,” said the 7-foot-2 Clingan. said. “We have a big match on Monday and we know we have a lot of work to do.”
A really big match.