03/28/24 08:58:00
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03/28 20:56 CDT Top-seeded UConn blows through another opponent, beating San
Diego State 82-52 to reach Elite Eight
Top-seeded UConn blows through another opponent, beating San Diego State 82-52
to reach Elite Eight
By JIMMY GOLEN
AP Sports Writer
BOSTON (AP) --- Stephon Castle had 16 points and 11 rebounds for top-seeded
UConn and the defending NCAA champion advanced to the Elite Eight with another
double-digit victory, beating San Diego State 82-52 on Thursday night in a
rematch of last year's title game.
Cam Spencer scored 18 points and Tristen Newton added 17 points and seven
rebounds for the Huskies (34-3), who will play the winner of the other East
Region semifinal between No. 2 Iowa State and No. 3 Illinois for a spot in the
Final Four in Glendale, Arizona.
A year after cruising to their fifth national championship --- winning their
six NCAA Tournament games by an average of almost 20 points --- the Huskies
followed up blowouts last weekend with their ninth straight double-digit March
Madness victory.
Backed by a TD Garden that was virtually a UConn home crowd --- Boston is about
90 miles from its Storrs, Connecticut, campus --- the Huskies made it a
double-digit lead early in the second half, 20 with about seven minutes left
and 30 in the final minutes, after the teams sent in their benches. UConn coach
Dan Hurley's son Andrew even got into the game with 1:44 left, drawing a
celebratory cheer.
Seven-footer Donovan Clingan, who played just 23 minutes after getting into
foul trouble, had eight points and eight rebounds.
Jaedon LeDee scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half for fifth-seeded San
Diego State, which followed up the only Final Four appearance in school history
with another Sweet 16 run.
But for the second straight year, the Aztecs (26-11) ran into UConn, which is
now three victories away from becoming the first team to repeat as NCAA
champions since Florida in 2006 and '07.
UConn took its first 10-point lead before the midpoint of a first half in which
both teams went cold about 10 minutes in. After opening a 27-16 lead with 11
minutes left, UConn shot 6 for 28 to finish the half --- and still took a
nine-point lead into the break.
The Huskies went up by double digits for good in the opening minutes of the
second half when Newton --- thanks to an offensive rebound and assist from
Clingan --- hit a 3-pointer to make it 45-33. Up 17 with eight minutes left,
UConn scored the next nine points to pull away.
UConn won last year's championship game 76-59 and also beat the Aztecs in the
2011 Sweet 16, with Kawhi Leonard's San Diego State team falling to Kemba
Walker's Huskies, who went on to win the school's third national championship.
Last year, UConn made it five, pulling away after leading by five points with
five minutes left to beat the Aztecs 76-59.
UP NEXT
The Huskies reached the Elite Eight for the 13th time. The last time they made
it this far and didn't win it all was in 2009, when Jim Calhoun's team lost to
Michigan State in the national semifinal.
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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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