BOSTON – Fueled by its backcourt, the UConn men’s basketball program is headed back to the Elite Eight after pulling away for an 82-52 win over 5-seed San Diego State in Boston’s sold-out TD Garden Thursday night.
Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer and Stephon Castle led the way in the national championship rematch, combining for 51 points as the reserves helped UConn grow its lead to as many as 32 late in the second half.
Newton reasserted his All-American status with 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Spencer scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half, adding five rebounds and three steals. Castle, the freshman, recorded his first double-double of the year with 15 points and a career-high 11 rebounds.
The win tied UConn’s record for wins in a season (34-3), which was set in 1999, when the program won its first national championship. UConn has won nine consecutive NCAA Tournament games by an average of 22.8 points. The win also made them the first reigning national champion to make it past the Sweet 16 since Florida went back-to-back in 2007.
Jaedon LeDee went shot-for-shot with the Huskies to start the game, but Newton ripped an offensive rebound away from him around the 14-minute mark and sparked a 12-2 run that was fueled by a pair of layups and a 3-pointer from Spencer.
LeDee finished with 18 points, only three in the second half, and led his team with eight rebounds.
Alex Karaban made two 3-pointers in the first four minutes, the second with his heel touching the center court logo, as UConn finished the first half with more made 3s (5-for-14) than it had for the entirety of the Round of 32 game against Northwestern (3-for-22).
But the Huskies went quiet, making just 2 of their 16 shots from the field from the eight-minute mark until Spencer knocked down a midrange jumper to end a three-minute scoring drought. The Aztecs cut their deficit to four but Spencer scored UConn’s last seven points of the half to make it a 40-31 lead at the break.
Castle scored six straight points in the second half to help UConn build a 16-point lead as it continued to dominate the glass. And Hassan Diarra, who came on to give Spencer a break after his own scoreless first half, continued to stretch the lead with a pair of layups and a 3-pointer from the corner.
The Huskies finished the game with a 50-27 rebounding advantage, 21-10 on the offensive end.
Castle found Donovan Clingan (eight points, eight rebounds) for a dunk that knocked the Aztecs out as UConn’s lead grew to 21 with seven minutes to play.
UConn is now 13-6 in Sweet 16 games all-time and advances to the Elite Eight for the 13th time, where it holds a 6-6 record. The Huskies will meet the winner of 3-seed Illinois and 2-seed Iowa State on Saturday for a chance at the Final Four.
