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UConn Huskies Are Headed To A Seventh Final Four After Beating The Fighting Illini, 77-52

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Basketball

Using one of the most impressive runs in NCAA Tournament history, the top-seed UConn men's basketball team (35-3) blew past Illinois (29-9) by a score of 77-52 to advance to the seventh Final Four in program history on Saturday night in the East Regional Final at the TD Garden. UConn opened the second half with a 25-0 explosion, part of a 30-0 overall run to turn a tight game into a laugher.

The Huskies will play in back-to-back Final Fours for the first time in program history, and set a UConn record for wins in a season with 35. Donovan Clingan led five Huskies in double-figures with 22 points, adding 10 rebounds, five blocks and three steals. Cam Spencer had 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for first career double-double, and Alex Karaban, Hassan Diarra and Samson Johnson all finished in double-figures.

Stephon Castle scored only two points in the win but turned in a tremendous defensive effort, limiting Illinois' leading scorer Terrence Shannon to 2-of-12 shooting from the floor while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out five assists. Tristen Newton and Spencer also had five assists apiece, part of a 21-assist day for the Husies.

How it Happened

Clingan got the Huskies off to a fast start, scoring the first seven points of the contest as part of a 9-0 run to open the game. The Illini got within two around the midway point of the first half, but back-to-back buckets from Diarra and Clingan put the Huskies ahead 19-13 before a timeout a the 7:20 mark.

In a low-scoring first half that saw both defenses control the action, Illinois briefly pulled even at 23-23 with two minutes left in the opening stanza. The Huskies answered with the next five to take a 28-23 lead to the break. UConn held Illinois' potent offense to only 28.6 percent shooting in the first half.

The Huskies opened fast in the second half, ripping off a 7-0 run to begin the frame with a Clingan slam putting Connecticut up 35-23 and forcing an Illinois timeout three minutes into the half. After two more stops and Husky buckets the Illini were forced to call for time again, as the half-opening run extended to 11-0 and the lead to 16 at the 15:59 mark of the second.

Foot firmly on gas, the Huskies would out-score the Illini 25-0 over the first seven minutes of the second half in a dazzling display of both offense and defense. UConn held Illinois 0-for-14 to open the frame and ballooned a five-point halftime lead to a 53-23 advantage. Combined with the final five points of the first half, UConn's run totaled 30-0.

From there all that was left to decide was the final, as Connecticut continued to defend at a high level and close out the 25-point victory.

Inside The Numbers

  • After shooting only 33.3 percent in the first, UConn shot a blistering 70.0 percent from the floor in the second half to finish the day 31-60 (51.7 percent)
  • Conversely, UConn held Illinois to 17-of-67 shooting (25.4 percent)
  • The Huskies out-scored the Illini 52-20 in the paint
  • UConn finished with a 45-36 edge on the glass and turned eight offensive rebounds into 12 second chance points
  • Clingan's 22 points came on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor
  • Diarra and Johnson both went 5-of-6 from the floor, helping UConn to a 27-15 edge in bench scoring

News and Notes

  • The Huskies improve to 3-1 all-time against Illinois and 7-6 in Elite Eight games
  • UConn's seventh ticket to the Final Four joins trips in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2023
  • After Illinois tied the game at 23-23 with 1:49 to go, UConn scored the game's next 30 points
  • The 30-0 run for UConn was the best in program history since opening a game against New Hampshire in Dec. 1990 with a 32-0 burst
  • Clingan has blocked multiple shots in a game 22 times this season and has 12 games with three or more swats
  • The double-double for Clingan was his sixth of the season and the 10th of his career –  it was also his second of the NCAA Tournament
  • Clingan became the eighth player in NCAA Tournament history to record at least 20 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks in a Regional Final or later
  • UConn became the first team ever to outscore its opponent by 20+ points in a half at least four times in one NCAA Tournament. The previous record was 3, by Duke in 1992 and Arizona in 1988.
  • Spencer's double-double was the first of his career in his 130th career game
  • UConn has now won 10-straight games by double-figures in the NCAA Tournament - the longest-such streak in tournament hisotry 

Up Next

The Huskies will head to Phoenix to play in the Final Four, beginning on Saturday, April 6. UConn will face the West Regional champion and four-seed Alabama in the national semifinal.