UConn returns to the national championship game as the Huskies outlast Alabama 86-72… as they look to defend their title in battle of the No. 1 seeds vs. Purdue on Monday
A year after winning the men’s national championship, UConn is back in the title game after beating Alabama 86-72 in the Final Four.
The top-seeded Huskies (36-3) had put on a March Madness show before arriving in the desert, a stretch that included a 30-0 run in a decimation of Illinois in the Elite Eight.
This was more of a slow burn, with UConn withstanding an early flurry of three-pointers before holding the Crimson Tide (25-12) without a field goal for a five-minute stretch in the second half.
Stephon Castle led the Huskies with 21 points, while Donovan Clingan added 18 in the win. Alex Karaban and Cam Spencer both added 14 as well.
For Alabama, which had reached its first Final Four in school history, Mark Sears led the way with 24 points, but the Huskies ultimately proved to have too much offensive firepower.
UConn’s Donovan Clingan celebrates in the second half. The big man finished with 18 points.
UConn guard Stephon Castle (5) dunks over Alabama forward Grant Nelson (2)
Alabama guard Mark Sears (left) scored 24 points, but that wasn’t enough for the Tide
The Huskies’ Final Four victory certainly wasn’t as easy as the final score indicated.
Alabama held on in the program’s first Final Four appearance, going up against a team that trailed by a total of 28 seconds in its first four NCAA Tournament games.
Smart point guard Sears did his best to keep Alabama in it, while Grant Nelson had another big game in March Madness, finishing with 19 points, 15 rebounds and one dunk on the highlight reel over Clingan.
The teams were tied at 56 with 12:44 to go, although Alabama never led in the second half.
Next up for the Huskies will be a much more physical test against 7-foot-1, 300-pound Zach Edey and Purdue in Monday’s national championship game.
UConn players celebrate during the second half against Alabama during the Final Four
Alabama forward Nick Pringle is fouled by UConn center Donovan Clingan, left
“A battle of the giants,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “I think it’s just great for college basketball. Us and Purdue were clearly the two best teams in the country the last two years. I think it’s great for college basketball to get the two big dogs playing on Monday.”
Last March, the Boilermakers became just the second No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed by falling to Fairleigh Dickinson. That loss haunted the Boilermakers all year, even as they won the regular season Big Ten race and looked like a title favorite all season, with redshirt freshman Cameron Heide noting that the team heard chants of “FDU!” FDU!’ of opponents during the year.
Purdue handled NC State 63-50 earlier on Friday night, led by 20 points and 12 rebounds from Edey.
If UConn can survive the game against Purdue, it will be the first repeat national champion since Florida in 2006-07