Las Vegas, Nevada (AP) The program’s failure to win in March has been the main criticism of UConn under coach Dan Hurley.
Repeated first-round exits from the NCAA Tournament indicated that the Huskies weren’t terrific, and they surely weren’t on par with the UConn women’s programme.
A few hours after the UConn women experienced a rare slip-up, the Huskies demonstrated they are exceptional once more in what may have been the craziest March of all by turning in another dominant performance.
With an 82-54 thrashing of Gonzaga on Saturday night, UConn defeated its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament foe behind 20 points from Jordan Hawkins, securing its first trip to the Final Four in nine years.
“I believe it becomes a little bit of a mental hurdle,” Hurley said, “especially like early stages of the NCAA Tournament where you feel like maybe the load of the history and tradition and first-round games, maybe even second-round games.” “The climb to get here has been genuine and more difficult than I anticipated.”
The Huskies (29-8) have played their best basketball of what had been a hit-and-miss season, and have felt like at home in their first prolonged March Madness run since capturing the 2014 national championship.
In the West Region final, UConn dominated the typically effective Bulldogs on both ends, creating a 23-point advantage early in the second half to breeze through to the next round of the tournament.
The eliminations from the first round have long since passed. Likewise, the midseason blues.
For once, these talented Huskies succeeded where the UConn ladies failed, and they are now on their way to Houston, where they will take on Miami or Texas.
Once it does, UConn has a pretty solid record: The Huskies are 8-1 all-time in Final Four contests.
Andre Jackson Jr., who scored eight points, ten assists, and nine rebounds, remarked, “We’ve got a lot to prove. We still have a grudge towards them.
The Bulldogs (31-6) lacked the same second-half magic that helped them defeat UCLA in the Final Eight with only seconds remaining.
Gonzaga collapsed after All-American Drew Timme was sent to the bench with his fourth foul early in the second half as UConn went on a late run to lead by seven at halftime.
The Zags struggled in their attempt to reach a third Final Four since 2017 as they shot 33% from the pitch (7 of 29 in the second half) and made just 2 for 20 three-point attempts.
Gonzaga coach Mark Few said, “UConn was absolutely fantastic tonight and we didn’t have any answers, especially when kind of everything really didn’t bounce our way.” And with our offence as awful as it was tonight, we can’t take a loss like that.
For UConn, Adama Sanogo had 10 points and 10 rebounds while Alex Karaban scored 12 points.
Timme finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He was removed from his final collegiate game with 1:50 remaining, to a standing ovation.
Timme gave Few a long embrace as he left, saying, “I’m just so glad that the programme and the location took me for who I was. They didn’t ask me to be anything other than who I am.
The Zags got things going with a reckless runner by Timme and two air-balled 3-pointers like they were still recovering from a night in Vegas. Once Gonzaga cleared its head, the Bulldogs used defence to stifle the Huskies, including hard hedges on screens and Timme sagging off Jackson to guard the lane.
UConn responded by placing the ball in the facilitator Sanogo’s capable hands. The UConn big man used Gonzaga’s double-teams to dish up five assists in the opening period, including two for layups.
Hurley remarked, “We worked that out. “It no longer works,”
The Huskies led 39-32 at the half after Karaban’s last-second 3-pointer, and Gonzaga’s situation only grew worse to begin the second half.
Timme committed his third and fourth fouls in the first 2 1/2 minutes, one on a charge and the other on a box-out under the hoop as UConn increased its lead to 12.
Gonzaga forward Anton Watson remarked, “We brought the team together and tried to keep optimistic thinking and try to keep chipping away at that advantage.” But when Drew leaves, it’s difficult.
After Timme sat down, the Huskies really got going, using their defence to break out in transition and put up 3-pointers. When UConn went on a 14-3 run to take a 60-37 lead, Few decided to risk it all by bringing Timme back.