BOSTON — When his team advanced to the Sweet 16 four days ago, Connecticut coach Dan Hurley drew plenty of attention for the confident message he gave his players: Keep blowing teams out of the tournament.
His players followed the instructions Thursday.
In a rematch of last year’s national championship game against San Diego State, the Huskies were bigger, faster and better. UConn made more shots, crashed the boards when they didn’t, and ultimately overwhelmed their opponent in an 82-52 victory at TD Garden to advance to the Elite Eight, where it will face the winner of No. 2 Iowa State and No. 3 Illinois.
The most impressive part of how UConn beat San Diego State for the second time in 12 months was that it wasn’t just one thing. The Huskies won different stretches of the game in different ways. They looked — to put it in a Hurley term — “bulletproof.” Any weaknesses were fleeting.
UConn’s average margin of victory through its first three men’s NCAA Tournament games is 28.7 POINTS 🤯 pic.twitter.com/zUyqnPKicO
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) March 29, 2024
In the first 10 minutes, they won with straight-up efficiency. Connecticut made 11 of its first 16 shots and scored on 12 of its first 14 possessions.
Cam Spencer, one of two starters who weren’t on last year’s national championship team, tossed in 16 first-half points. So far, when Spencer’s on, the Huskies can’t be beaten: They improved to 30-0 when he scores in double figures — compared to 4-3 when he doesn’t.
In the second half, they won with relentlessness on the offensive glass. UConn didn’t just score second-chance points — it capitalized on third chances, with second offensive rebounds leading to open 3-pointers.
At a time when San Diego State was still in range — trailing 42-33 two minutes into the second half — one such sequence went like this: An Alex Karaban blocked shot attempt landed with Stephon Castle, who dribbled out to the right corner and missed a 3. Donovan Clingan, the tallest player on the court at 7-foot-2, used every inch of his wingspan to rope in a contested rebound, then passed out of the post to Tristen Newton for a corner 3 to stretch the lead to 12. Nine minutes later, a similar sequence led to a third-chance Hassan Diarra 3 to stretch the lead to 18.
UConn outrebounded San Diego State 50-29. The Huskies’ 21 offensive rebounds led to 12 second-chance points — a number that, if anything, means they left a few opportunities on the table.
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(Photo: Brian Fluharty / USA Today)
