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ESPN staff
The UConn Huskies are headed to the 2023 NCAA tournament national championship game to face the San Diego State Aztecs.
The Huskies secured their spot in Monday’s title game with a decisive 72-59 win over the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday. The Aztecs beat Florida Atlantic 72-71 in the other Final Four matchup.
UConn, in its sixth Final Four appearance, never trailed and led by as many as 20 points. Its previous five semifinal appearances resulted in four championships.
These numbers represent the Huskies’ dominant night in Houston:
5: UConn is the first team to win all five of its NCAA tournament games by at least 15 points.
Since the NCAA tournament expanded in 1985, there have been five other teams (2000 Michigan State Spartans, 2001 Duke Blue Devils, 2009 and 2016 North Carolina Tar Heels, 2018 Villanova Wildcats) to enter an appearance in the national championship game having won each tournament game by double digits. All five went on to win the title.
10: With a block in the first half, Donovan Clingan joined Emeka Okafor (2002-04) and Hasheem Thabeet (2009) as the only UConn players with at least 10 blocks in a single NCAA tournament. Clingan, a freshman, accomplished the feat in just 65 minutes played; the other instances occurred with at least 100 minutes played.
15: The Huskies have also won all 16 of their nonconference games by double digits this season.
85: UConn has trailed for a total of 85 seconds since the second half of its Sweet 16 matchup. It trailed in that game against the Saint Mary’s Gaels for 38 seconds before winning 70-55. The Huskies didn’t trail against the Arkansas Razorbacks and trailed for only 47 seconds against the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
103: UConn has outscored its opponents by a total of 103 points in this NCAA tournament, making it the seventh team ever to have a points differential of at least 100 entering an appearance in the national title game.
The big win was celebrated accordingly by sports Twitter:
CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND ‼️#Made4March pic.twitter.com/ObP9clPemY
— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) April 2, 2023
LEETTYSS GOOOOOOO
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) April 2, 2023
On to the championship game!! Let’s goooo!! #BleedBlue 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/0x3KFpTzbB
— Renee Montgomery (@ReneeMontgomery) April 2, 2023
Let’s go Huskies! 🏀 #MFinalFour @UConnMBB @UConnHuskies pic.twitter.com/kpwctMG9My
— Governor Ned Lamont (@GovNedLamont) April 2, 2023
WELCOME BACK TO THE #NATIONALCHAMPIONSHIP @UCONNMBB 🐺#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/j7H5N0IgQo
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 2, 2023
WE’RE GOING TO THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!!! pic.twitter.com/9ObVy7CqJ2
— UConn Huskies (@UConnHuskies) April 2, 2023
ONE MORE! #Made4March pic.twitter.com/YouTkwfMNz
— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) April 2, 2023
ALL IS GOOD IN STORRS. pic.twitter.com/q7UDKGLbvi
— UConn Students (@UConnStudents) April 2, 2023
Bracket check
7️⃣ 2️⃣ 0️⃣ 1️⃣ brackets predicted this matchup for the championship 😳 @Aztec_MBB | @UConnMBB pic.twitter.com/QMU4I305hM
— ESPN (@espn) April 2, 2023