This year’s East Regional NCAA Sweet Sixteen script, a rematch of last year’s thrilling National Championship, couldn’t have been more exciting. Leading up to this game, head coach Dan Hurley noted how he hoped Boston would become “Storrs North” and that there would be ample support for such a tough matchup. Hurley got that and more as the roof nearly came off the TD Garden on Thursday night for his team’s 82-52 beatdown of the Aztecs.
Early on, it was evident that SDSU was making a strong attempt at disrupting the defensive presence that Donovan Clingan brings to the team as Jaedon LaDee attempted a pair of triples in the first half. While it’s something that Clingan has rarely gone against, he still had to stop LaDee’s impact from down low. The 6-foot-9 senior put up 15 points on 7-10 shooting, most of which came in the paint. As good of a first half as LaDee had, Cam Spencer had an even better one.
The graduate transfer accumulated 16 points on 6-9 shooting, including 2-3 from deep. Spencer was creative in the ways he got looks. The guard wasn’t afraid to let it fly for three or drive to the rack for a tough lay. This has been a recurring theme all season long and teammate Tristen Newton noted all of the ways that Spencer’s deep offensive arsenal helps his team win.
“He only made two threes today, and he had 18 points, so obviously, he’s more than a three point shooter. He can get to the free throw line, he can get to the rim, he’s very crafty and passes the ball very well too, so he does a lot more than shoot threes.”
Newton also put together a solid first half showing. The All-America guard had 9 points on a respectable 3-8 slash, including a pair of free throws. The former East Carolina transfer also accumulated 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 17 minutes of work. Similar to Spencer, a part of Newton’s game that is often overlooked is how deep his offensive arsenal truly is.
Another Husky who put together a solid showing was 6-foot-8 forward Alex Karaban. The redshirt sophomore had 8 points on 3-9 shooting, including 2-5 deep. However, Karaban’s most significant impact came in the rebounding department, grabbing 6 first-half boards.
The forward’s performance on the glass also helped give the Huskies a major first half offensive advantage: the rebounding performance. The Huskies had 28 first-half boards to the Aztecs’ 16, a significant reason why Connecticut led by 9 points after the first 20 minutes.
Another reason the Huskies left the first half with such an advantage was their improvement defensively. There were some growing pains early on guarding LaDee, not to mention the unit as a whole surrendering many open looks. However, after the first media timeout, the program locked down on that side of the ball, most notably against the pick-and-roll. This cooled off the SDSU offense, allowing Connecticut to run into the second half with significant momentum.
Like the first half, the final 20 minutes can be summed up as follows: murder by rebounds. Yet it wasn’t always this way for Connecticut. For a good portion of the regular season, the Huskies were either outrebounded or matched with their opponents. Despite their excellent record, the team felt it could improve in that department, and tonight was a good example of that.
“We knew that the game was going to be won on the backboard and we thought we could dominate the backboard, and we would have a good chance at winning,” Karaban noted postgame. “We didn’t always rebound well throughout the season, but we thought that was a huge emphasis for us for this game.”
The rebounding set up everything UConn wanted to accomplish offensively. This feat allowed Newton to continue his reign of dominance, putting up 8 points on 3-6 shooting in the final 20 minutes.
Stephon Castle also had a second half to remember, accumulating 11 points and 7 rebounds in 15 minutes of work. His performance was all the more encouraging for UConn fans, considering that he was finally able to play his brand of basketball and subsequently generate success off of that. The Georgia native was making an impact both in and out of the paint. Whether he was throwing down a lob or creating his own chances at the rack, the Aztecs had no answer for Castle. Just looking at his 6 second-half free-throw total emanates this point.
Perhaps the biggest blow of the night for the Aztecs was how Connecticut contained their top scorer, LaDee. The senior forward went 1-8 from the field in the second half after an impressive showing in the first 20 minutes of Thursday’s win. LaDee was SDSU’s leading scorer, coming into the postseason averaging 22 points a night. Head Coach Dan Hurley attributed this factor to their overall defensive abilities.
“Donovan made it hard on him. Samson made it hard on him. Guys who were helping off the right people on the perimeter, just showed them a lot more bodies and played much better one-on-one defense. We’re a top-10 defensive team as well. So again, that’s the best way to keep yourself from being vulnerable in this tournament is by guarding at a high level.”
Hassan Diarra, another solid player, also contributed. The 6-foot-2 senior scored 10 second-half points in 8 minutes. Karaban noted all the ways that Diarra contributes to the program’s success, even if it doesn’t come with the same recognition that other players get.
“We wouldn’t be here without Hass,” Karban said. “He’s just that energy spark for us, and he’s always looking to create for others but really it starts on the defensive end with him and he’s one of the best defenders in the country I believe. With the way he picks up other guards and [is] always guarding the other team’s best players, it’s special.”
This was the biggest win for the program all season long. The team is only three wins away from winning back-to-back National Championships, a feat that Florida last accomplished in 2006-2007. Next on tap for the Huskies is the Illinois Fighting Illini in the Elite Eight at 6:09 p.m. on Saturday. If Connecticut plays the way it did Thursday, don’t be surprised if the program is catching a flight to Arizona for the Final Four.