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Top-seeded UConn wasn’t going to let Terrence Shannon Jr. ruin its chances of becoming the first team in 17 years to win back-to-back national championships.
Shannon had scored at least 25 points in each of his previous seven games, but the Huskies held him to just eight on Saturday and also opened the second half on a 25-0 run to claim a 77-52 victory over Illinois, third favorite. in the Elite Eight.
Shannon struggled all night against UConn (35-3), making just 2 of 12 shots from the floor in 36 minutes of action. While stopping Shannon was a team effort, Huskies coach Dan Hurley gave a lot of credit to Stephon Castle, a freshman tasked with guarding a fifth-year senior.
‘Steph just made it very, very difficult for (Shannon). She kicked him out of the line. We did a great job in transition,” Hurley said. ‘Whenever we got the lead, we had rim protection. You had Donovan (Clingan) there, you had Samson (Johnson) there.
“But Steph, there’s a reason why, in the basketball world, people are as excited about Steph as they are. He’s a winning player.”
UConn and Donovan Clingan sealed a brilliant 77-52 victory over third-seeded Illinois
They will face Alabama in the Final Four and beat Clemson 89-82 on Saturday night.
UConn’s defensive prowess was on full display after Fighting Illini’s Marcus Domask tied things at 23 with 1:49 left in the first half.
The Huskies scored the final five points of the half to take a 28-23 lead into halftime and then essentially punched their ticket to the Final Four in the first seven minutes of the second half.
Clingan opened the outburst with a short jumper, then put together a sequence in which he blocked Quincy Guerrier, grabbed the rebound and threw down a dunk at the other end.
That led to a timeout for Illinois, but it ended up having no effect on the Huskies, who extended their lead to 30 at 53-23 when Hassan Diarra punctuated the grueling stretch with a layup at the 13:16 mark of the end. half.
Justin Harmon scored low with 12:41 left for the Fighting Illini’s first points after intermission.
‘Our defense is elite, our offense is elite, we rebound the ball. These guys play every possession like it’s the end of the world,” Hurley said of his group. “We have NBA-level players that are just willing to share.”
Clingan finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and three steals for UConn, which is headed to its seventh Final Four in program history. Cam Spencer also recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Diarra contributed 11 points.
The Huskies are now two wins away from becoming the first team to win back-to-back national championships since Florida did so in 2006-07.
Alabama will face UConn in its first final four appearance next Saturday.
Mark Sears made seven 3-pointers and Alabama rebounded from its early long-range shooting woes with 16 3-pointers to beat Clemson 89-82 on Saturday night, sending the Crimson Tide to the Final Four for the first time.
Sears’ three-pointers were one shy of his career high. He finished with 23 points and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the West Region of the NCAA Tournament. Freshman Jarin Stevenson hit a 3-pointer in the first half, as Alabama missed 12 of its first 13 from long range. He made a career-high five 3-pointers and scored 19 points off the bench.
“These guys have been unbelievable,” Alabama coach Nate Oats told the crowd. “We have had a different player in each game. Roll tide!’