NCAA national championship: UConn wins fifth title, blowing out San Diego State
The Huskies have their fifth national title.
After a thoroughly dominant run through the NCAA tournament, No. 4 UConn delivered an emphatic exclamation point on Monday night, handling No. 5 San Diego State, 76-59.
The Huskies came within a few points of being the most dominant team in tournament history. They beat Iona by 24, St. Mary’s by 15, Arkansas by 23, Gonzaga by 28 and Miami by 13 before Monday’s matchup with the Aztecs. They would’ve needed to beat San Diego State by 26 in order to break the all-time tournament record for point differential, but the Aztecs kept it respectable in the second half.
San Diego State had a brief flash of success to open the game before an elongated cold streak in the first half as it went without a field goal for over 11 minutes. UConn took advantage and carried a 36-24 lead into the break. The Aztecs would keep it interesting until late in the second half, even cutting the deficit to five points with just over five minutes left in the game. But the Huskies found their footing when it mattered and ran away with the game late.
Tristen Newton led the Huskies with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Adama Sanogo added 17 points and 10 rebounds and was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player.
