Stetson basketball falls to UConn in program's 1st March Madness appearance
NEW YORK — Stetson basketball has been a Division I program for 53 years, and on Friday made its first NCAA Tournament appearance.
The No. 16 Hatters lost to No. 1 UConn, the defending national champion, 91-52, at Barclays Center, ending a meaningful and momentous season for Stetson.
But the goal now?
“We don’t want to wait another 53 years to get back to another NCAA Tournament,” guard Jalen Blackmon said. “We want to make this a thing, getting here every year and just getting used to it.”
This was always going to be a tall order for Stetson. Only three teams found a way to take down the Huskies all season. And when UConn is locked in the way it was on Friday, it becomes even more of a juggernaut.
It showed in the first half, which ended with Stetson trailing 52-19. The Huskies started fast and never took their foot off the pedal.
But in the locker room during the break, coach Donnie Jones told his team he didn’t care what the score was.
“You walk in there at halftime and obviously a lot of guys were discouraged because they felt they didn’t get off to a great start,” Jones said. “The biggest thing I told those guys was, ‘Hey, pick your head up.’ ”
He wrote “0-0” on the board. He also wrote the word “pride.”
That’s what he wanted the Hatters to play for.
His team responded, at one point reeling off a 9-0 run that elicited loud cheers from the Stetson fans in the crowd.
“At the beginning of the game, we never found a rhythm,” guard Stephan Swenson said. “We hurt ourselves there. But we saw in the second half when we play our game and play loose, and kind of embrace the stage, good things can happen for us. So it was a great experience.”
But the Huskies regained control and ultimately finished off the blowout victory. UConn shot 52.9% from the field and went 9-of-24 from beyond the arc.
The Huskies’ 7-foot-2 center Donovan Clingan made things difficult on both ends of the court for Stetson all game long and finished with 19 points and eight rebounds.
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Stetson shot 30.9% from the field and went 3-of-20 from long distance. The Huskies simply proved too tough to take down, something plenty of teams have experienced this season.
Still, Jones pointed out that Friday’s result doesn’t erase what Stetson accomplished this season, including the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament championship that led to the Hatters’ first March Madness appearance.
“There’s no loss with our group tonight,” Jones said. “The victory’s already been won. The brotherhoods, the relationships, the stories. These guys will have them for a lifetime. The history they made at Stetson. To see the fan base change at Stetson University, how the university’s come together. It’s only going to rise. We’re thankful they’ve been the pioneers to take this school to a place they’ve never seen before.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Stetson vs. UConn in March Madness: Huskies win NCAA Tournament opener
