SDSU Aztecs 59 vs 76 UCONN Huskies summary: stats and highlights | NCAA National Championship
The University of Connecticut Huskies have conquered the college basketball world for the fifth time in program history after their 76-59 win over the San Diego State Aztecs. Adama Sanogo was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament and finished off his title run with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the Huskies victory.
Another blowout win for the Huskies
UCONN came into the National Championship game having swept through the competition with an average win margin of over 20 per game. The Aztecs were riding high off a dramatic buzzer beater to down the Florida Atlantic Owls in the Final Four, but looked like they ran out of steam in the title game.
Either they ran out of steam, or they ran into a brick wall by the name of Adama Saongo. He and the rest of the Huskies stifled an SDSU team that was known for their defense.
Both teams got out to bright starts, especially the Aztecs who hit four of their first five shots out of the gate. They had a 10-6 lead early on, but that would be the last time they had the advantage on the Huskies for the night as UCONN shut them down from the field for the next 11 minutes. SDSU wouldn’t make a field goal during that span, while the Sanogo and company went on a 20-5 run.
Newton leads UCONN in title game
The size advantage down low was evident as Sanogo and Donovan Clingan imposed themselves on the smaller SDSU front court. During the first half run that put UCONN in command, Tristen Newton had seven straight points in a night that he led all scorers with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
The Huskies took a 12 point lead into halftime, and the Aztecs were fortunate that the deficit wasn’t steeper. Every time it looked like Dorrian Tremmell or Lamont Butler were on the verge of getting the Aztecs back in the game, UCONN would show their championship class with a big bucket to answer and keep SDSU at an arms length.
UCONN now among NCAAB heavy hitters
With under 8 minutes to go, desperation set in for the Aztecs and they made one final push to get back into the game. Tremmell and Butler led a 9-0 run that brought the Huskies to within six points, but Dan Hurley’s side would finish off the Aztecs on a 16-4 run to cruise to their fifth title in school history.
The win brings them level with Duke and Indiana for a tie for fourth most National Championships in college basketball history. All of their wins have come since the turn of the century, and it looks like coach Hurley has this this back at the summit of the sport.
Adama Sanogo has named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament after posting 20.2 points and 9.8 rebounds in UCONN's five tournament games.
Dan Hurley has led this program back to where they were so used to being at the start of this century. After 9 years, the Huskies are champions of college basketball yet again.
Not many people outside of the state of Connecticut had this team winning the title. They shocked the world after starting the season unranked.
For the fifth time in program history and the first time since 2014 the UCONN Huskies are National Champions.
The Aztecs did make one last grasp run with under 8 minutes to go, and closed the gap to within six points, but UCONN would go on a 16-5 run to end the game in large part because of the play of Tristen Newton and his 19 points.
Joey Calcaterra had just 6 points all night, but this three ball was huge for the Huskies to saw the Aztecs trying to creep back into the game.
Just like they did all tournament, the Huskies came out swinging, and wouldn't let their opponents within an arms reach of them the rest of the game. They won all six of their Tournament games by double digits, including the 17 point win in the Title game.
Tristan Newton had 7 straight points during the first half and that was when the Huskies started to take complete control of the game. He finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in a fantastic Championship performance.
The Huskies defense made life almost impossible for the Aztecs all night, and created easy buckets on the other end of the court.
Jordan Hawkins had a stomach bug coming into the weekend, but he looked back to his best in the Championship and put up 16 points to help carry UCONN to their fifth title.
The Huskies trailed 10-6 early in the first half, but SDSU went cold from the field for 11 minutes and in that time, UCONN went on a 20-5 run to get a firm grip on the game that they wouldn't let go.
The National Championship got off to a feverish pace as both teams started off on target coming out of the gate.
IT'S ALL OVER!!! THE UCONN HUSKIES WIN THEIR FIFTH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN PROGRAM HISTORY!!!
Jackson Jr. hits one of two FTs and it's just a matter of time.
Jackson was fouled by Parrish and SDSU takes a timeout as this NRG Stadium starts to buzz. The Huskies are going to win their fifth title after nearly a decade long championship drought.
Hawkins at the line again, and the Aztecs can sense that this game is all over. Hawkins hits both FTs with under a minute to go.
Johnson sends Newton to the line where he hits both FTs. He's got 19 on the night!
Bradley at the line and he hits both FTs after the foul by Jackson Jr.
Hawkins down low with the baseline finish off the glass and that might just do it!
Tremmell breaks a streak of four minutes without a field goal on his pull up jumper from the elbow.
Sanogo got the offensive rebound and got fouled by Bradley. He goes to the line and hits both FTs. Huskies up 14 with 2:00 to go.
What a finish from Newton who went into the body of the big man and got the shot off the glass to go!
Newton at the line after Seiko's foul, and he hits both FTs to stretch the lead back to 10.
Johnson missed the one-and-one out of the timeout.
We are headed to the final TV timeout with 3:52 to go! Huskies need to hold off the Aztecs the rest of the way for their fifth National Title in school history!
Hawkins hits a huge three ball at the top of the key to stop the Aztecs dead in their tracks!
Johnson at the line after the foul on Karaban, and he hits both FTs!!! IT's a 5 point game with 5 minutes to go!
Butler stripped Newton at halfcourt and took it to the rack for the lay up in transition!
Hawkins at the line after the foul on Parrish, and he hits both FTs.
Johnson at the line out of the timeout and he hits one of two FTs.
We are at the under 8 TV timeout and suddenly we have a ball game!
SDSU at the line after the Sanogo foul with 6:58 to go in the second half!
Sanogo on a huge tip in after the miss by Newton to break the 9-0 Aztec run.
Trammell with the steal and the score to bring this game to within 6!
Johnson drains the three ball and the UCONN lead is down to single digits!
UCONN take a timeout with 8:33 to go in the game. Time is running out for the Aztecs to make a run. If they are going to do it, it needs to be coming out of this timeout.
LeDee gets the ball back in the paint, and he goes up with the jump hook and gets the roll.
LeDee going back to work in the paint and he gets the floater to go!
Calcaterra on the catch and release from the top of the key and the lead is back to 15!!!
Butler drills a three ball! He's got three of those tonight, but he needs someone else to step up tonight.
Entry pass from Jackson Jr. to Clingan and he goes right up over the undersized defense of SDSU.
LeDee drops the FT line jumper after the kick out from Butler.
Alleyne at the line out of the timeout and he hits both FTs.
We are headed to a TV timeout with under 12 to go. Huskies are up 12 and have been in control of this game since the 16:00 mark of the first half.
LeDee gets fouled by Clingan on the jump hook and he hits one of two.
Newton was fouled by LeDee on the rebound attempt and Newton hits both on a one-and-one. The lead is back to 14 for UCONN.
Mensah picks up his third as he sends Sanogo to the line where he hits both FTs.
Seiko strings a three ball from the corner and the Aztecs are within 10 for the first time in a long time!
Newton at the line out of the timeout after the foul on Tremmell, and he hits both FTs.
We are headed to the first TV timeout of the second half with UCONN hanging on to a double digit lead.
Butler slices down the lane, makes a move around Sanogo and gets the finger roll to fall.
Sanogo going to the line after the foul on Mensah, and he hits both FTs.
Johnson going to the line after the foul on Jackson Jr. and he hits both at the line.
Karaban with a huge three ball off the catch and release and that take the wind out of SDSUs sails.
Tremmell got fouled by Newton and he goes to the line and hits both.
SDSU takes an early timeout with 18:04 to go, and it's not too early to start thinking that every possession counts, especially for the Aztecs who need points.
UCONN banging it back down low with Sanogo and that leads to another lay up for the big man.
Bradley starts the half with a pull up jumper and that will give the Aztecs some life coming out of the break.
WE ARE BACK IN HOUSTON FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION!
The lead stretched out to as many as 16 after this three ball from Calcaretta. SDSU was able to pull the Huskies back to within 12, which they should feel lucky about after a dreadful offensive first half.
The UCONN defense was suffocating at times in that first half, and SDSU looked lost for most of the opening 20 minutes.
Jordan Hawkins looks like he is back to full strength after fighting through a stomach bug in the Final Four against Miami. He's got 7 through the first half.
The Aztecs went cold and UCONN used that scoreless spell to build up a big lead with a 10-0 run.
SDSU knew they needed to keep pace with the high flying offense of UCONN, and they did that for the first four minutes, but then faded after a long scoreless drought.
This game got off to a feverish pace as both teams were able to get going on the offensive end early.
UCONN are getting much easier looks and banging on the boards. They have been the more physical team, and that's the reason they lead by 12.
Newton has 9, while Hawkins and Sanogo have 7 a piece.
UCONN held the Aztecs to just 28.6% shooting in the first half. Trammell leads SDSU with 7 points, Butler and Johnson have six a piece.
WE ARE HEADED TO HALFTIME HERE IN HOUSTON!!!
The Huskies lead after their defense stifled the Aztecs. There was a stretch where SDSU missed 12 straight FGs in a span of over 11 minutes.
Trammell pulls the trigger on a mid range jumper and finally the Aztecs are hitting some shots.
Johnson pulls up from the top of the key and hits the long two point shot. They aren't getting into their offensive sets so it might take a lot of one of one play from the Aztecs.
Timeout UCONN with under a minute to go in the half.
Calaterra drills a three ball after Tremmell missed a fast break lay up, and the Huskies are running away with this one!
TV timeout with 2:55 to go and the Huskies are up by 16. SDSU need a little run before halftime to bring back some of the belief.
Butler answers with a three ball, and the Aztecs needed to see the ball go in the bucket from downtown before this game gets out of hand.
Newton is on a roll in the last few minutes! He hits the triple try and he's got 7 straight points for the Huskies!
Newton picks off the Butler pass and goes right to the rack for the scoop and score.
Newton getting into the paint with a spin and the floater in the lane.
Tammell gets the floater to go to finally break the 11 minute long FGless drought.
Mensah heading to the line after the first offensive rebound of the Aztecs night and he hits one of two FTs after the foul on Hawkins.
Hawkins drills the three ball off the pull up and the lead is the largest of the night!
Sanogo sent to the line by Mensah, and he hits one of two FTs.
Bradley comes out of the break and hits two of three FTs to bring the Aztecs within 8 despite not hitting a FG since almost 10 minutes ago.
SDSU just got bailed out by Hawkins who fouled Bradley on the three ball! He will shoot three FTs after the TV timeout with 7:21 to go in the half.
Alleyne gets the roll and the Huskies are on a 16-2 run!
Hawkins driving left off the Sanogo assist and he finishes with a lay up high off the glass!
SDSU take a timeout needing a FG desperately with 8:50 to go in the half.
Alleyen pulls up from the FT line and the lead is up to six.
Johnson finally breaks the scoreless spell six minutes later, with a couple FTs after the foul on Clingan.
Karaban at the line, and he hits two FTs to extend the run to 10-0
Early on it's evident that UCONN has a bit of an advantage down low, and their dominance on the battle of the boards has led to a 9-4 edge to start the game.
We are headed to the under 12 TV timeout and the Aztecs have gone cold. They haven't scored in 5:30 minutes but are still hanging in despite an 8-0 Huskies run.
Calcatarra got into the paint and lobbed it over the defense to set up an alley oop for Clingan!
SDSU is on a 3:30 minutes scoreless drought, but playing some good defense to stay in this game.
Slip pass from Jackson Jr. finally found it's way to Sanogo for the lay up and he's got 6 early points.
Sanogo got a big block on the defensive end and came down court and got his second jump hook of the night to fall.
All 8 FGs have been scored by 8 different players to start this game.
Newton drops the long two from the win and that's going to take us to the first TV timeout here from Houston.
Both teams are coming out hot, but it's SDSU leading early on.
SDSU's leading scorer is on the board with a mid range jumper.
Jackson Jr. hits the shot from just inside the FT line.
Johnson hits the short jumper and everyone is getting into the action early for the Aztecs.
Sanogo gets involved for the first time tonight with a turn around jump hook from outside the paint.
Trammell splashes a three buried deep in the corner, and that's two in a row for SDSU!
Butler drains a three ball, and he is riding high and full of confidence after coming up with the game winner against FAU on Saturday.
Hawkins starts the game off with a mid range jumper, and reports are he is feeling better than he did when he entered Saturday night still feeling the affects a stomach bug.
THE COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IS UNDERWAY FROM HOUSTON!!!
UCONN Tournament history
The Huskies are used to being to this stage of the tournament. Under Jim Calhoun, UCONN was a Final Four regular, but they haven’t been back to the National Semis since 2014. This is their sixth time reaching the Final Four, and of those six times they went on to win it all four times.
SDSU Tournament histroy
The Aztecs have been around the block a few times, but have never reached these lengths in the tournament. They have been Dancing 14 times before, but the farthest they have ever got before this year was the Sweet 16. They were there in 2011 and 2014, but got bounced by UCONN in ’11 and Arizona in 2014.
UCONN star watch
Adama Sanogo is the big man on campus for the Huskies. He heads up one of the best inside out duos in the country alongside Jordan Hawkins. Sanogo is posting 17.2 ppg and he also leads the Huskies in rebounds with 7.6 boards an outing. Hawkins is a sharpshooter on the perimeter, getting 16.3 points and shoots almost 40% from three points range. He is right at his average, getting over 16.4 points points in the tournament and had a gritty 13 points in a game against Miami in which he was still bothered by a stomach bug he was dealing with all week. Sanogo started the tournament with 28 points against Iona, and 24 against St. Mary’s. He had 10 last game, but the game was well in hand against a Zags team that struggled all night. He showed just how dominant he can be against a Hurricanes team that had no answer for his last game. The big man had 21 and 10 in the Final Four win.
SDSU star watch
The Aztecs have just one player who is averaging double digits scoring this year. That’s Matt Bradley, who is averaging 12.7 points an outing. He had a brilliant start to the game against the Owls in the Final Four, dropping three quick threes and scoring 11 points in the opening minutes of the game. He ended the game with 21 and is averaging 10.2 ppg in the tournament. Darrion Tremmell is also averaging 10.2 ppg in the tournament and has been the Aztecs second leading scorer with 9.7 ppg this season. Tremmell was the hero against Creighton, then Lamont Butler was the man who stepped up and dropped the game winner against FAU. He averages 8.7 ppg this season, and had just 7 points before hitting the biggest shot of his life to send SDSU to the National Championship.
UCONN cruises past competition
The Huskies are making this tournament look like a cake walk. They have won their five games by an average of more than 20 points and last game’s 72-59 victory over Miami was the closest a team has come to UCONN in the Big Dance. Adama Sanogo got his side off 9-0 lead with two threes as the big man showed he’s a threat from the inside and the outside. The defense held the Hurricanes to 25% shooting in the first half, as the lead stretched to 13 going into the break. Sanogo’s 21 helped build up a 20 point second half lead, and the Hurricanes never got within less than 8 points in a wire to wire for the Huskies.
Butler buzzer beater makes Aztec history
After a back and forth start in which Matt Bradley and Michael Boyd went blow for blow from downtown, the Owls took control of the lead late in the first half. Alijah Martin was terrific for FAU with 26 points, while Bradley went quiet until the Aztecs needed him most. FAU built up a 10 point lead in the first half, and that built up to a 14 point advantage in the second. Bradley reignited in the second half and helped mount one of the biggest comebacks in Final Four history. The Aztecs never led in the final 20 minutes of the game, until Lamont Butler hit the buzzer beater to down the Owls as the clock expired.
How they got here UCONN:
UCONN was in the Top-10 at the end of the season after going 29-8, and losing in the semis of the Big East Championship. They got a four seed in the West bracket and bounced back from their lost to Marquette with a first round win over 13 seed Iona to start their run to the Final Four, which has seem double digit win after double digit win. It was a 5 vs 4 match up in the second round and the Huskies cruised past St. Mary’s in a 15 point victory. Their last two wins have been blowouts over Arkansas and Gonzaga. They beat the Razorbacks by 23 and then took down Drew Timme and the Bulldogs by almost 30. In the Final Four they Huskies jumper out to a big early lead and never allowed the Hurricanes to come within striking distance.
How they got here: SDSU
San Diego State was ranked 18th in the country coming into the tournament after winning the Mountain West with a a win over Utah State. They lost just six games all year, and earned a five seed in the South bracket. They got through their tricky 5-12 matchup with a 63-57 win over the College of Charleston. They met another high seed in the next round and took down Furman in a 23 point blowout. The real test came in the Sweet 16 when they took down the top seeded Alabama Crimson Tide 71-64. Then came the Creighton Blue Jays in the Elite 8, and they squeaked out a win thanks to Darrion Tremmel’s FT with a second on the clock. That was the first of two last second buckets that advanced to them to their first National Title ever. The second, of course, was Jamont Butler’s buzzer beater to down FAU as the clock expired on Saturday night.
WE ARE LIVE FROM HOUSTON!
Hello everyone and welcome to Houston! It’s been a little too long since they have been on this big of a stage for a UCONN Huskies team that got awfully accustomed to playing for the National Championship since the turn of the millennium. The Aztecs are in unchartered waters and are looking to ride the wave to title glory in the first tournament they made it out of the Sweet 16. One of those times they got to the Sweet 16 was in 2011 when they were knocked out by these UCONN Huskies. Now they look to get their revenge tonight on college basketball’s biggest stage.
SDSU vs. UCONN
It’s National Championship time from Houston and the San Diego State Aztecs are on the verge of making program history in their first title game, while the UCONN Huskies have a chance bring their program back to it’s heyday. AS English will be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis all the way to the trophy presentation from NRG Stadium.