UConn marches its way into the national championship game against Purdue
Can anybody beat No. 1-seeded UConn?
Seriously. That must be the question Purdue coach Matt Painter and his entire staff must be fretting over after the Huskies took down No. 4 Alabama 86-72 in their NCAA Final Four matchup on Saturday night at State Farm Stadium.
That’s now 11 consecutive NCAA tournament games that UConn and coach Dan Hurley have won by double-digits.
Alabama played a great game of basketball. The Crimson Tide shot 50% from the field in the first half, including going a staggering 8-for-11 from three-point range — yet still trailed by four at the break. Guard Mark Sears didn’t miss a shot until the second half. Forward Grant Nelson was a menace on the boards, including one memorable dunk on 7-2 center Donovan Clingan.
But none of it mattered as the depth and versatility of UConn were just too much to match for Alabama. Each UConn starter scored at least 12 points.
While all eyes were on Clingan, one of the country’s top players and a projected top NBA draft pick, it was guard Stephon Castle who led the way for the Huskies with 21 points and 5 rebounds on 7-of-13 shooting, including two early three-pointers to set the tone. Castle came into the game having only shot 1-of-8 from three in the tournament.
“I had it going,” Castle said. “My teammates, they put me in great positions to be successful. I saw a couple of shots fall in early. I just had it going.”
The game was a back-and-forth affair, see-sawing all over the place as each team tried to gain a foothold. Each time the Huskies built a lead, Alabama clawed its way back into the game.
But UConn managed to fight back every time — the Huskies had four separate 7-0 runs.
Some might be surprised to see Castle shine on the offensive end as he is one of the country’s premier defenders and has drawn NBA comparisons to Marcus Smart. Don’t tell that to Castle’s teammates.
“No, I'm not surprised at all,” Alex Karaban said. “We see it in practice every day. We always want to be aggressive, the opportunity. He had the opportunity at the beginning of the game to be aggressive, and he took advantage of it. We know how talented of a player he is on both ends of the floor. It's not a surprise at all.”
Clingan added: “He's not like any other freshman. He's out there to do whatever his team needs for him to do to win. He's one of the best on-ball defenders that you'll see. He puts a lot of work in. He's the most unselfish player on this team.”
Clingan finished the night with 18 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks, highlighted by two big dunks that effectively put the game away with less than two minutes to play. Karaban and guard Cam Spencer each chipped in 14 points, and guard Tristen Newton added 12.
UConn only had four turnovers in the game.
Next up for the Huskies is a chance at history on Monday: They’ll try to become the first men’s team since Florida in 2007 to repeat as national champions.
“I mean, yeah, everyone came to UConn to try to be a part of history. We're one step closer to our goal,” Clingan said. “But none of us in this locker room are satisfied. We know we have a lot of work to do, a big matchup on Monday.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: UConn marches its way into the national championship game against Purdue
