March Madness: UConn becomes the first reigning national champions to reach the Elite Eight since 2007 after beating San Diego State… as Clemson spoils Arizona’s homecoming hopes

The Connecticut Huskies extended their streak of double-digit March Madness wins to nine in a row with a victory over San Diego State in a rematch of the 2023 national championship game.

It was the first rematch of a national title game in the tournament since 2007, when Florida beat UCLA in that season’s Final Four. Now UConn shares something else with that Florida team: The 2024 Huskies are the first defending national champions since the 2007 Gators to reach the Elite Eight after a brutal second-half blowout to cruise to an 82-52 victory.

In 2007, Florida competed again and no team has done so since. That’s UConn’s goal now, and its next task is to defeat the winner of Thursday night’s game between three-seeded Illinois and two-seeded Iowa State.

On the other hand, the Clemson Tigers prevented what could have been a homecoming for the Arizona Wildcats. With the Final Four in Phoenix, the ‘Cats’ hopes of playing in their home state were dashed as sixth-seeded Clemson advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1980 with a 77-72 victory.

(1) UConn 82, (5) San Diego State 52

In a tight first half, the Huskies headed into the locker room with a nine-point lead over the Aztecs.

While Jaedon LeDee led the way for SDSU with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting, none of his teammates could get much closer to him in the first half.

Meanwhile, UConn was able to rely on several players to score, led by guard Cam Spencer’s 6-of-9 shooting performance with 16 points and with important contributions from Tristen Newton (9 points) and Alex Karaban (8 points).

Connecticut went on a 6-0 run after the under-16 media timeout and continued to build its lead, up to 15 points midway through the second half.

That only grew, as the Huskies completely dominated San Diego State in the second half.

Connecticut outscored San Diego State 42-21 in the second intermission. Spencer finished the night leading the team with 18 points, Newton had 17 points and rookie phenom Stephon Castle had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

The Aztecs’ season ends with LeDee scoring 18 points and bench player Micah Parrish adding ten of his own. No one else reached double digits for SDSU.

(6) Clemson 77, (2) Arizona 72

Arizona transfer Caleb Love could practically taste revenge on his hands against his former team, North Carolina. The Tar Heels could await Love’s Wildcats in the second round if they can get past Clemson.

In fact, they failed to get past Clemson. The Tigers shot the ball much better than the Wildcats and held on in the final minutes to surprise Arizona and ruin the homecoming.

This year’s Final Four will be held in Phoenix and Arizona was hoping to play at least one more game in front of its home fans.

Instead, Clemson keeps dancing and reaches the Elite Eight for the first time since 1980.

Chase Hunter had 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Clemson. He was joined at the top of the rankings by PJ Hall (17 points, eight rebounds) and Ian Schieffelin (7/17/3).

Arizona’s loss could come down to its paltry 5-of-28 (17.9 percent) shooting from beyond the arc. Jaden Bradley, who led the team with 18 points, was the only player to hit more than one 3-pointer.

Oumar Ballo had a double-double of 15 points and 15 rebounds while Love only had 13 points.

Clemson will face the winner of the matchup between top-seeded North Carolina and four-seeded Alabama.