March Madness: UConn stops San Diego State 76-59 for men’s title

HOUSTON — The University of Connecticut marched to its fifth NCAA men’s basketball title on Monday night, ending San Diego State’s magical run with a 76-59 victory at NRG Stadium.

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The Huskies (31-8) improved to 5-0 in NCAA title games, adding this year’s championships to crowns won in 1999, 2004, 2011 and 2014. San Diego State (32-7) was playing in its first NCAA title game. The Huskies became the fifth team since the NCAA bracket expanded in 1985 to win all six of its tournament games by double digits, according to The Associated Press.

The last time UConn and San Diego State met in the NCAA Tournament was in 2011, and the Huskies won that game en route to their third national title. The Huskies have won five national titles under three different coaches. Jim Calhoun won the first three titles and Kevin Ollie won a championship in 2014, according to ESPN.

Monday night, Tristan Newton led the Huskies with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Adama Sanoga, named the outstanding player of the Final Four, had 17 and 10 rebounds and Jordan Hawkins added 16. For San Diego State, Keshad Johnson had 14 points, Darrion Trammell had 13 and Lamont Butler, the hero of Saturday night’s semifinal victory, also had 13 points.

During the first half, the Huskies opened up leads as large as 16 and led by as much as 14 in the second half, but the Aztecs continued to hang close, staying within 10 or 11 points. With 7:36 to go, San Diego State cut the lead to 56-50 after a 3-pointer and a layup converted off a steal. San Diego State would cut UConn’s lead to five points, at 60-55, with 5:19 to play.

The Huskies pushed the lead back to 10 with 3:41 to play and stretched it to 14 with 2:08 to go.

UConn had been dominant during the tournament, winning each of its five previous games by at least 13 points and defeating Gonzaga by 28 in the Elite Eight. San Diego State, meanwhile, was the giant killer of the tournament, knocking off No. 1 overall seed Alabama. They also rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat Florida Atlantic University with a buzzer-beating shot on Saturday night.

In Monday night’s game, San Diego State found itself trailing by double digits again at halftime. But unlike their miracle finish against Florida Atlantic University in Saturday’s Final Four matchup, the Aztecs were unable to solve UConn’s motion offense and strength under the boards. UConn scored 16 points from inside during the first half, while San Diego State was 0-for-6 on layups.

UConn took advantage of San Diego’s cold shooting and turnover-prone offense in the first half, taking a 36-24 lead at the intermission.

San Diego State took early leads of 8-4 and 10-8 in the first half but suddenly could not find the net, missing 12 field goal attempts at one point and only converting a pair of free throws during a nine-minute stretch.

UConn, meanwhile, went on a 9-0 run to go ahead 16-10 before the Aztecs scored again with 10 minutes left in the half. The Huskies opened a 20-12 lead with 8:50 left before the intermission.

The Aztecs finally broke their scoring drought when Matt Bradley hit a pair of free throws with 7:21 left in the half.

San Diego State shot just 28.6% percent from the floor and turned the ball over nine times.

Four times during the tournament, UConn held its opponents under 60 points, Sports Illustrated reported. The Huskies’ average margin of victory during their run to the title was 20 points.

Saturday’s games marked the first time since seeding was introduced 44 years ago that no No. 1, 2 or 3 seeds reached the Final Four.

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NCAA men's final: NRG Stadium was the site of Monday's national championship game between Connecticut and San Diego State. ( Logan Riely/Getty Images)