No. 1 UConn fends off Alabama to earn shot at title repeat

Following the victory, Huskies head coach Dan Hurley completely encapsulated what makes UConn so laborious to beat. 

“The tradition. The preparation,” Hurley stated by way of SNY. “The dedication to each facet of the sport so we preserve ourselves as bulletproof as attainable on this match, which is tough. We make a tough match look simple. It is loopy.” 

Alabama turned out to be arguably the hardest take a look at of the match for UConn. Nevertheless, after a shaky first half, the Huskies stayed the course within the second, ultimately overwhelming the Crimson Tide. 

UConn led by solely 4 at halftime, 44-40, however turned up the stress on the offensive and defensive ends en path to a 14-point victory. Alabama refused to go away down the stretch, however the methodical tempo the Huskies have change into recognized for turned the tide late. 

With the sport tied at 56-56 with 12:44 remaining within the second half, UConn went on a 30-16 run, punching its ticket to the title recreation. 

On the offensive finish, all 5 UConn starters completed in double figures, with guard Stephon Fort main the way in which with 21, adopted by middle Donovan Clingan (18), guard Cam Spencer (14), ahead Alex Karaban (14) and guard Tristen Netwon (12). 

On the defensive finish, the Huskies refocused after letting Alabama run wild early. The Crimson Tide shot a strong 72.7% from past the arc within the first half however had been held to solely 3-of-12 capturing from three the remainder of the way in which. 

UConn has been dominant throughout its match run, profitable their 5 video games by a median of 26 factors. On Monday night time in opposition to fellow No. 1 Purdue, they may look to construct on that dominance with a historic title win, aiming to be the primary males’s back-to-back champion for the reason that 2006-2007 Florida Gators.