March Madness 2023: UConn clinches men's college basketball title in win over San Diego State for fifth NCAA tournament.
The No. 4 seed University of Connecticut Huskies are back on top the throne of men’s basketball after defeating No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs, 76-59, to win the NCAA Tournament.
The Huskies have lifted the trophy at the conclusion of the college basketball season five times since 1999. Since then, only UCLA (11), Kentucky (8), and North Carolina (6) can claim to have won more championships.
Adama Sanogo, a lanky standout forward for UConn who had 17 points and 10 rebounds in the championship, was named Most Outstanding Player. Tristen Newton scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double as well.
The Huskies (31-8) became the fifth team to win all six NCAA Tournament games by double digits en route to a title since the field was extended in 1985. They won the six games by an average of 20 points, which is only slightly less than North Carolina achieved in cruising to the 2009 championship.
Late in the first half, UConn built a 16-point lead, but the Aztecs (32-7) were able to cut it to five with 5:19 remaining. Jordan Hawkins (16 points), whose cousin Angel-Reese won the MOP award the previous night to help LSU win the women's championship, responded with a 3 to start a 9-0 run.
San Diego State, making its first appearance in the Final Four, came up just one win short thanks to Keshad Johnson's 14 points.
They reduced the UConn advantage to six points in the second half after Keshad Johnson's confident three-pointer cut it to eight. After an Andre Jackson Jr. error for the Huskies, Darrion Trammell made a layup with 7:37 left in the half to rouse the crowd of San Diego State supporters.
- UConn’s defense held San Diego State to 32.2% from the field, while they shot 43.4%. They also slightly out-rebounded the Aztecs 40 to 34.
- The latest Huskies title came in 2014 when they defeated Kentucky. They also won it all in 2011 and 2004 following that first 1999 victory.
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