UConn buries Illini with 30-0 run, back in Final 4

Jeff Borzello, ESPN Personnel WriterMar 30, 2024, 08:32 PM ET

Close

• Basketball recruiting expert.
• Signed up with ESPN in 2014.
• Graduate of University of Delaware.BOSTON– Late in the very first half of Saturday’s East Regional final between No. 1 seed UConn and No. 3 Illinois, the Huskies’dominant march toward back-to-back national championships appeared in risk. Not simply their streak of double-digit wins, however staying alive in the NCAA tournament.The Battling Illini had fought back from an early deficit to tie ball game with 1:49 left till halftime.Less than 8 minutes of game action later on, UConn led by 30. The Huskies ran 30 straight points, an onslaught not seen this

  late in the NCAA tournament recently, en route to a 77-52

  triumph to advance to their second straight Last Four. UConn will deal with Alabama, an 89-82 winner over Clemson in the late game Saturday night, in the Last 4 next weekend.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated The 30-0 run was UConn’s biggest because Dan Hurley took control of as coach in 2018.”30-0 is crazy, “stated Tristen Newton, UConn’s All-American point guard.Added Hurley:”It was an unique

  level of basketball that we were playing.”Going into Saturday’s game, among the essential tactical concerns was how UConn would defend smooth-shooting center Coleman Hawkins and whether Illinois could use its 5-out offense to drag 7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan far from the basket

  and open driving lanes.It rapidly emerged Illinois had no solution in handling Clingan. The forecasted lotto pick scored the very first seven points and produced a virtuoso defensive efficiency.”What he did to them at the rim defensively scared them,”Hurley said.” And certainly they had no answers for him at the offending end.”Group 25-Pt Wins Result UConn 3– Kentucky 3 ’93 Last 4 UNLV 3 ’90 Champ La Salle 3 ’55 Runner-up Clingan’s existence in the paint was impossible to overcome. He was formally credited with five blocks, however that may have been a couple of brief. Illinois simply couldn’t score at the rim; the Illini missed 8 of their very first 10 layups and shot just 28.6%from 2-point variety in the first half. Illinois

  star Terrence Shannon Jr. shot 2-for-12 and totally stopped driving to the basket midway through the 2nd half.”Does not everyone have him forecasted in the lotto or near it?”Illinois coach Brad

  Underwood stated of Clingan.” We talked ad nauseam about spacing them. … Offer him a lot of credit. Got an elite guy back there.” In Clingan’s first 17 minutes on the flooring, Illinois handled just 4 points. According to ESPN Statistics & Info research study, Illinois went 0-for-19 on basket attempts objected to by Clingan.He completed with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks and 3 takes in 22 minutes. “When he remains in there, he’s such a substantial existence. He’s gon na block shots, he’s gon na truly make everything difficult. That’s precisely what he did,”sophomore forward Alex Karaban stated.”He did the best task he did of walling up. He didn’t get in foul problem for us, where in other games he might have. However he simply went vertical every time he obstructed it. It’s just a substantial self-confidence increase. This actually was one of his best performances.”UConn stopped working to benefit from Illinois ‘early struggles, with an unexpected protective slog breaking out in between the two finest offenses in the nation. The Huskies missed their first 10 3-point attempts and had actually just 2 made shots outside the paint.Newton didn’t make a shot in the very first half, going 0-for-6. While Shannon struggled, Southern Illinois transfer Marcus Domask kept the Illini in the game, making a set of early 3s and after that using his size to score over smaller defenders in the post.Back-to-back baskets by Domask late in the half connected ball game at 23, however UConn scored the final 5 points for a 28-23 lead at the break. “We weren’t stressed at all,”Newton said.”We understand what type of work we put in and how easy it

  is for us to rating. We knew it was gon na begin streaming. And we just knew when it started streaming, the game was going to be over. “The Huskies opened the 2nd half by scoring the next 25 points, putting the game well out of reach and continuing a dominant

  two-year NCAA tournament run. UConn has won its previous 10 NCAA tournament games by at least 13 points, becoming the first string to win that lots of by double-digits. The Huskies have trailed for just 28 seconds in this year’s tournament and have beaten their 4 opponents by approximately 27.8 points.They also became the third team in NCAA tournament history to win by 25-plus points in each of its 2 games directly leading up to the Last Four, signing up with 1993 Kentucky and 1955 La

  Salle.In the 80 second-half minutes UConn has actually played in this year’s NCAA tournament, the Huskies have actually led by double digits for 76 minutes and three seconds.” Our defense is elite. Our offense is elite. We rebound the ball. These guys play every possession like it’s completion of the world, “Hurley said.”Kimani [Young] and Luke [Murray] prepare these guys with scouts at a quality level that any head coach in the nation would be proud to present. Those 2 guys are remarkable.” We have actually got NBA-level players that are simply ready to share and have actually produced an astounding culture. We’re going to be tough to beat.”