Historic surge sends UConn to second straight Final Four

The Huskies celebrate winning the East Region Saturday night in Boston. (Photo courtesy UConn Athletics)

It was 34 years ago on a cold December evening at the shiny, new Gampel Pavilion in Storrs when the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team hosted an overwhelmed New Hampshire team in December 1990.

The Huskies, fresh off a Big East championship and stirring run in the NCAA tournament to the East Region finals eight months earlier, scored the first 32 points of the game against the Wildcats, who eventually lost by 53 points.

It’s not an uncommon sight to see in the early months of a college basketball season with one team simply overwhelming another.

To see a performance like that in March with a bid to the NCAA Final Four on the line? Well, that is something to see.

Defending champion Connecticut used a 30-0 run to turn a tie ballgame late in the second quarter into a one-sided affair as the Huskies rolled past No. 3 seed Illinois Saturday night, 77-52, at the TD Garden in Boston to secure their second straight bid to the Final Four and seventh in school history.

UConn (35-3) won their tenth straight NCAA tournament game and set a new single season record for wins in a season. UConn will face Alabama in the Final Four next Saturday in Phoenix.

Donovan Clingan led five Huskies in double figures with 22 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and three steals. Cam Spencer had 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds.

The game was tied at 23-23 with 1:49 remaining in the first half. UConn scored the next 30 points in the game. The Huskies sank 11 of 16 field goals in the run and pulled down 16 rebounds while the Illini went 0-for-17 in the surge and had only four rebounds.

“Well, I think that I didn’t expect that,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said afterwards. “But tons of credit to UConn. I thought that we were in a good spot at half. Especially after the slow start. I thought Clingan dominated the first half with his defensive abilities. We obviously came out in the second half and got blitzed. Got some decent looks. Kind of felt like we were doing some of the things we’ve always done, but Donovan made good blocks.”

In one sequence, Clingan made a block at one end of the floor and hustled down the floor to slam home a dunk for the Huskies.

“And then they do what they do. They got out in transition, turned some of those blocks, turned a few turnovers into lay-ups. But give them credit,” Underwood said.

The Huskies did this against an Illinois team that won 29 games and a Big Ten championship.

“We go into all these games believing that it’s going to be a 40-minute battle to the end. But, again, we were able to systematically break them down in the second half there,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said.

There weren’t any magical words shared in the UConn locker room with the Huskies leading by four at halftime.

“We just had tremendous respect for Illinois. Brad and their program and the team, I obviously would have been thrilled just to get out of here with a win,” Hurley said.

“But our defense is elite. Our offense is elite. We rebound the ball. These guys play every possession like it’s the end of the world. (Assistant coaches) Kimani (Young) and Luke (Murray) prepare these guys with scouts at a quality level that any head coach in the country would be proud to put forth. Those two guys are amazing.

“We’ve got NBA-level players that are just willing to share and have created an unbelievable culture. We’re going to be tough to beat.”

Hasson Diarra had 11 points for the Huskies while Alex Karaban and Samson Johnson had 10 points each.

UConn’s Stephon Castle scored only two points but turned in a tremendous defensive effort, limiting Illinois’ leading scorer Terrence Shannon to 2-of-12 shooting from the floor while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out five assists. Shannon finished with eight points, Marcus Domask had 17 points to lead Illinois (29-9).

Tristen Newton and Spencer also had five assists apiece, part of a 21-assist day for the Huskies.

“In the second half, the way we were moving the ball on offense and how we were playing for one another really just opened up opportunities to dominate in the post and find cutters cutting and getting open shots,” said Clingan, who was named the most outstanding player of the East Regional. “One thing about this team is we always play for the guy next to us. We’re not worried about our stats. We’re not worried about self. We’re worried about the person next to us, worried about the team, and worried about walking out with a “W.”

A few additional notes:

• Clingan became the eighth player in NCAA tournament history to record at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a regional Final or later.
• UConn became the first team ever to outscore its opponent by 20 or more points in a half at least four times in one NCAA tournament. The previous record was three by Duke (1992) and Arizona (1988).
• UConn has now won 10 straight games by double figures in the NCAA tournament – the longest-such streak in tournament history.