John Fanta
College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter
LAS VEGAS — Just three minutes into the second half, Jordan Hawkins lifted his arms into the air and pounded his chest. There may have been 17 minutes to play, but that signal unleashed the chants:
U-C-O-N-N.
The Connecticut Huskies are heading to the Final Four, proving to the country on Saturday night that they are back and a force to be reckoned with.
Leading by seven at the break, UConn wasn’t going to let Gonzaga do to them what the Zags did to UCLA on Thursday in the Sweet 16.
The Huskies shot out of a cannon, rolling out a 13-5 run, highlighted by Hawkins — the West Region Most Outstanding Player — catching fire. The sophomore, who’s on track to go top-20 in the NBA Draft in June, led UConn on a 36-12 run at one point in the second frame. He finished with 20 points and was one of seven Huskies to score at least eight points in an 82-54 walkover. Next up is the Final Four in Houston on Saturday.
“Depth. That’s what this team has over anybody,” said Bob Hurley Sr., father of UConn coach Dan Hurley.
The Hall of Famer and high school basketball legend stood at center court with tears in his eyes on Saturday night as his son was cutting down the nets. Saturday night provided the shining moment for Dan, whose brother Bobby — the coach at Arizona State — often led the family headlines during his playing days at Duke.
On this night, Danny showed the world what he meant when he said “It’s coming” three years ago.
“He works tirelessly, absolutely tirelessly,” Hurley Sr. said. “To see him get this is special, because he truly does deserve it.”
Hurley took over a program that had lost its way under Kevin Ollie, going 14-18 in 2017-18 and falling far from the standard that the Huskies had set for the better part of the previous two decades. Entering this NCAA Tournament, the fifth-year head coach had elevated the program to a consistent winner, but the biggest obstacle was getting a victory on the big dance floor, something the Huskies had yet to do under this regime.
Much like this team, an avalanche when it gets on the run, one victory has turned into four, by a combined 90 points — yes, 90! Connecticut has won its four NCAA Tournament games by an average of 22.5 points per contest.
“What a performance by the boys,” Hurley said. “To do what we did to a team of that caliber, a program of that caliber, obviously we were just playing at a super high level. Obviously, (I’m) surprised by the margin of victory, but not surprised regarding where we’re going next because this is who we’ve been for a large part of the season.”
With UConn in control at the half by seven following an Alex Karaban buzzer-beating 3, the Huskies carried that into the second stanza. The game turned when Drew Timme, who ends his collegiate career with a 121-13 record, committed two fouls early in the second half to give him four, forcing the Zags to sub out their leader from a 10-point game with 17:38 left. UConn proceeded to run off eight straight, capped by a Nahiem Alleyne three-point play to push the lead to 18.
The victory puts the Huskies at 15-0 once morest non-conference opponents, with those victories coming by an average of 25.5 points. Yes, all eight of Connecticut’s losses came once morest Big East opponents.
“Listen, the Big East, especially if you look at the top four in our league, it was the best top four, and even when Providence was playing really at a high level, it was the best top four, top five of any conference in the country,” Hurley said of a league that has gone 10-3 in the NCAA Tournament and still has Creighton left playing Sunday for another Final Four spot. “And it wasn’t, in my opinion, it wasn’t very close. So people were seeing us for a second time and in some cases a third time. When you play us for the first time, and we’re very unique with what we have with Adama (Sanogo) and our wings (Andre Jackson and Hawkins), and then you’re looking at Donovan Clingan coming in at 7-foot-2 and the shooting off the bench, we’re an elite defensive team, we’re a top-five offensive team, and we generally beat the other team on the glass.”
There’s such a well-rounded nature to this Huskies team, and in this NCAA Tournament, they’ve rediscovered the swagger that led them to a 14-0 start on the season and No. 2 ranking in the country.
“I’ve told you man, I’ve said this is a special team,” Sanogo said following his 10-point, 10-rebound, four-assist performance. “I’m not surprised because we stuck to our identity and did what we do. When we do that, nobody can play with us. There’s a lot of people that didn’t believe in us. Coming into college, I never thought I would be able to make a Final Four.”
Sanogo, who is only a junior, also unveiled a big postgame statement: “I’ve got to keep going, got to keep going. (We) need two more to win a championship, then I’m out of here.”
What Sanogo was referring to regarding being doubted was the criticism that came on the program when it lost six out of eight games in the heart of the season, dealing with a difficult month of January.
“We’re a family, and that goes beyond basketball,” Jackson said following his eight-point, nine-rebound and 10-assist performance. “Regardless of what happens on the court, we’re going to be brothers forever. That’s a bond you can never break. We love taking the court together, and we never want this to end.”
That mindset is what has led this program back to where it belongs, the national radar. But it wasn’t getting the national buzz in the preseason.
“The last two years they didn’t even have us in the preseason Top 25,” Jackson said. “We got a lot to prove. We still have a chip on our shoulder. We had a goal to make it to the Final Four, but more importantly to win a national championship.”
WIth the level they touched on Saturday once morest Timme, Few and the Zags, the Huskies will enter Houston with as strong a case as anyone to cut down the nets.
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.
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