Dick Weiss on College Basketball
BOSTON– Illinois coach Brad Underwood did not seem worried about UConn before the NCAA East Region final at the TD Garden.
“It’s nothing we haven’t seen before,” he said.
Then Saturday night happened.
The top-ranked Huskies buried the B1G Tournament champions, 77-52, to advance to their second consecutive Final Four. And it wasn’t that close.
UConn terrorized Illinois with a 30-0 run that started at the end of the first half and ended when the Huskies sitting on a 53-23 lead with.7:19 to play.
I didn’t expect that,” Underwood admitted.
Train wreck. Illinois went 50 minutes in real time without scoring.
Get used to it. If the Huskies repeat at national champions, they can make a legit case for being the best team ever at a school in Storrs that has
won five national titles, better than the 1999 team with All America Rip Hamilton that defeated a top ranked Duke team that was 33-1, 77-74, in St. Petersburg or the 2004, second seeded team with center Emeka Okafor and guard Ben Gordon, the first and third picks in the NBA draft as well as two more lottery picks, Charlie Villanueva and Hilton Armstrong, that defeated Georgia Tech, 82-73, for the title in San Antonio.
Having a coach like Hall of Famer Jim Calhoun didn’t hurt.
But Danny Hurley’s team has been making a mockery of margin of victory during this run.
Connecticut defeated Stetson, 91-52 in the first round, Northwestern, 75-58 in the second round, San Diego State, 82-52, and then Illinois.
It probably didn’t help when former Illinois guard Sean Harrington, an ESPN analyst, wrote that UConn ‘has not had to deal with a team as athletic and phsyical as
Illinois and added the Terrence Shannon would be the best player on the court and the Huskies don’t have a good answer for him.”
Instant bulletin board material.
Hurley saw it a sign of disrespect and used it to fuel his players in a fight against complacency.
Hurley brought up Harrington’s comments in his post-game presser after the demolition was complete. “You’re going up against
beasts and monsters every night in the Big East and the Big East prepared us for teams like Illinois,” he said. “Iron sharpens iron.”
With Jay Wright gone, Hurley has become the most powerful megaphone defending and promoting his conference, which he still thinks deserved six teams in
the brackets.
The Big East has won three tournaments in the last seven years. By comparison, the B1G hasn’t won since 2000. The Pac-12 hasn’t won since 1997. And the SEC hasn’t won since 2012. The ACC and the Big 12 have each won twice since 2016.
UConn will be the odds-on favorite headed into this Final Four, provided 7-2 sophomore Donovan Clingan can stay on the floor. Clingan was a revelation.
against Illinois– 22 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. And that doesn’t’ count the numerous shots he altered.
He has grown into a franchise center and Danny Hurley has maxed out his talent at the right time.
Hurley is rapidly becoming one of the great coaches in the country. The best thing I can say about him is he coaches like his father Bob Sr., the Hall of Fame
coach at St. Anthony’s of Jersey City whose teams played beautiful basketball at both ends of the floor.
Danny expects and receives the same type of brilliance.
He may not have four lottery picks. But he has six players, if you include athletic 6-9 Samson Johnson, who will play in the NBA..
Clingan, freshman wing Stephon Castle and first team All -America point guard Tristen Newton should all be first round draft picks. The Huskies can hurt you from five different spots on the court. Cam Spencer was a good player at Rutgers. He’s been a great guard at UConn, good enough to join Newton on first
team All- Big- East. He encompasses Danny Hurley’s chippy personality and confidence when he shoots the ball. Redshirt sophomore Alex Karaban has been a glue guy who can make shots.
The pieces all fit together. The chemistry is exceptional. The Huskies can win playing any style.
And the amazing thing is they haven’t missed a beat since last season’s triumphant run. A year ago, the Huskies won all six games by at least 13 points.
Only three of the Huskie’s top eight players from that tournament returned. Yet they are playing better. UConn is35-3. They have lost only once since Christmas, to a gritty Seton Hall when Clingan was hurt in the second half. They toyed with Illinois, completely neutralizing Shannon, who shot just 2 for12 and only
scored seven points.
Hey, nothing is a given. UConn must get by Alabama which beat two ACC teams– North Carolina and Clemson to get here. The Tide got 23 points and seven threes from point guard Mark Sears and punished the Tigers on the offensive glass. But the Alabama defense, which has given up 100 points on three occasions in late season SEC play, may not be ready for the Huskies’ efficient, make the extra pass offense. Win that and they will face the winner of NC State and Purdue in the other semi.
The Pack has had a charmed run, led by likeable 6-9, 275-pound center DJ Burns, who buried ACC rival Duke under the weight of his 29 points, rallying for
a 76-64 victory.in the South Elite Eight. They look like that do not match up well against Purdue and its 7-4 center Zach Edey. But pick against them at your own risk.
Purdue moved one step closer to a possible final against Connecticut when Edey went off for 40 in a highly competitive, entertaining game against Tennessee in the Midwest Region final. Fans are already salivating at the thought of watching a national championship game with two low post heavyweights–Edey and Clingan
The possibility raises the excitement level. .
