HOUSTON — After six games and 240 minutes of pure dominance that ran through March and into April, it finally became clear there was only one thing that could stop the University of Connecticut men’s basketball team.
The final buzzer.
On Monday night, the Huskies topped off one of the most impressive runs in NCAA tournament history, clamping down early, then breaking things open late to bring home the program’s fifth national championship with a 76-59 victory over San Diego State.
“We knew we were the best team in the tournament going in, and we just had to play to our level,” said Dan Hurley, who joined Jim Calhoun (1999, 2004, 2011) and Kevin Ollie (2014) as the third coach to lead the program to a title.
UConn’s lanky star forward, Adama Sanogo, was selected most outstanding player of the Final Four, finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds in the final. Tristen Newton also had a double-double Monday with 19 points and 10 boards.