HOUSTON — UConn had its way with San Diego State in a dominating first half, threatening to turn the national championship game into a monumental rout.
The Huskies buckled briefly when the Aztecs inevitably turned up the intensity before finding their footing again, finishing off one of the most dominant runs in NCAA Tournament history.
UConn held San Diego State without a basket for 11 minutes in the first half and held on when the Aztecs ratcheted up the defensive pressure, winning its fifth national championship with a 76-59 win on Monday night.
Getting the shots they wanted while draining the Aztecs’ confidence defensively, the Huskies (31-8) had fans wondering whether they should keep watching, building a 16-point lead.
San Diego State (32-7) got back in it by getting in the Huskies’ faces, trimming the lead to five with five minutes left. UConn responded with another dominating stretch, pushing the lead until it had a sixth straight double-digit win in the NCAA Tournament.
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In the first half, UConn created and exploited cracks in San Diego State’s menacing defense, scoring at the rim, from the arc and in the lane.
The Huskies were downright nasty defensively, swatting shots, jumping into passing lanes, contesting shots all over the floor.
It started inside with Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clingan, who swatted and intimidated the Aztecs.
Their presence made the Aztecs not want to go inside and pass up shots when they did, like Nathan Mensah passing up an open jump hook to pass to a teammate who wasn’t looking. UConn’s Jordan Hawkins followed the turnover with a 3-pointer that put the Huskies up 26-14.
Even when the Aztecs got open shots, they couldn’t get any to fall. San Diego missed 14 straight in a span of 11:09 as UConn stretched its lead to 36-20.
San Diego State managed to bog the game and the Huskies down in the second half, but still couldn’t make shots as UConn’s lead hovered in double figures.
Then the Aztecs made it interesting by doing what they do best — play defense.
San Diego State rallied from deficits of eight or more points to win its previous three games and seemed to rattle the Huskies by picking up their defensive pressure. The Aztecs cut off UConn’s drives, stayed close to its perimeter shooters and jumped passing lanes — like they had done to teams all season.
San Diego State went on a 9-0 run to pull within 56-50, but the uptick in intensity seemed to sap their energy.
Jordan Hawkins, who finished with 16 points, hit a 3-pointer off a screen and UConn scored nine straight points, on its way to building back up to 14.
San Diego State’s bid for a national championship ended in disappointment, UConn’s first title since 2014 had coach Dan Hurley pumping his fists and the confetti canons firing.
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