A dominance-filled March Madness run ends with another UConn Huskies national title in Texas. Here are the details on the end of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
UConn Consecrates Itself for the Fifth Time
UConn held off a small push by the San Diego State Aztecs in the second half of the final game of March Madness to win its fifth championship, this time a 76-59 victory Monday night in Houston. It’s not just the Huskies’ fifth title since 1999, it’s the second in Houston and the fourth in Texas.
The Huskies’ most recent title was a six-game crowning with double-digit wins, as they won by an average of 20 points. In the last win, Tristen Newton (19 points), tournament Spotlight Adama Sanogo (17) and Jordan Hawkins (16) led offensively against San Diego State, while UConn thwarted the Aztecs around the hoop for much of the night.
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T&C APPLY | NJ, PA, IN, CO, NJ, MI, IA, LA, MS, OH ONLY Join NowSan Diego State (32-7) shot just 32.2 percent. Despite trailing by 16 points at one point, San Diego State did its best. It had already climbed high, insurmountable obstacles before, so its hopes were firm.
In their last three games, the Aztecs trailed No. 1 overall Alabama by nine points, Creighton by eight and FAU by 14 in the semifinals, and won them all. Although UConn ended up being too big a challenge, the Aztecs were the only team to mount a late threat, reducing the deficit to 60-55 with 5:19 to play.
Then, Hawkins immediately closed the door with a three-point shot. The San Diego State team has never been closer. In the end, San Diego State couldn’t get back this time.
The Second Number 4
The win makes UConn the second No. 4 team to win it all, joining Arizona in 1997. It also halted what would have been a series of firsts with San Diego State. In their first appearance in the Final Four, the Aztecs were one game away from winning their first title, becoming the first Mountain West team to win it all, and being the first No. 5 team to take home the crown.
Keshad Johnson, Lamont Butler, the hero who honked against FAU, and Darrion Trammell finished in double digits, but the Aztecs slumped for an 11-minute period without a field goal in the first half and failed to pull off a major rally in the second.
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T&C APPLY | NJ, PA, IN, CO, NJ, MI, IA, LA, MS, OH ONLY Join NowIn the end, UConn won another championship and became one of only six programs to reach that mark.
What’s next?
For the Huskies, the celebration is just the beginning. The triumph is the culmination of a year of hard work. After the celebration, a new cycle will begin where UConn must demonstrate why it is one of the most successful programs in the history of college basketball.
Despite the success UConn has had over the past 25 seasons, this outcome was far from assured when Dan Hurley took the reins of the show in 2018. The Huskies won just one NCAA Tournament game in the four seasons prior to the hiring of Dan Hurley and the firing of renowned coach Kevin Ollie.
Success wasn’t immediate, either. Hurley didn’t make it to the tournament at UConn until 2021 and didn’t win a tournament game until three weeks ago, but that inexperience never seemed to matter this season.
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T&C APPLY | NJ, PA, IN, CO, NJ, MI, IA, LA, MS, OH ONLY Join NowFor San Diego State, a dream season culminates in frustration. However, this could be the beginning of a successful program in the long run. It remains to be seen if San Diego State can transform this triumph into a sustainable Gonzaga-style program, or else it will remain as a Cinderella who got the 12.
This performance by San Diego State is very similar to that of Gonzaga in 1999, precisely the year UConn won the first title in its history. That’s why this defeat may be the cornerstone of Gonzaga-like success, or what UConn’s program has become over the past 25 years.
