NCAA Tournament Wrap: UConn Overwhelms San Diego State In Sweet 16 Win

BOSTON — Top-seeded UConn was too much for No. 5 San Diego State on Thursday night in a rematch of last year’s national title game with the Huskies taking an 82-52 Sweet 16 win at TD Garden.

UConn improved to 34-3 while the Aztecs ended their season with a 26-11 record.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
UConn had a clear size advantage — 7-foot-2 sophomore center Donovan Clingan being the main example — against San Diego State and the Huskies’ length overwhelmed the smaller Aztecs, especially on the glass.

UConn ended up grabbing an eye-popping 21 offensive rebounds, which wasn’t far off from the total number of rebounds (29) the Aztecs came down with in the game. UConn finished with a decisive 50-29 rebounding advantage.

Giving extra possessions away crushed San Diego State, as it caused them to waste more energy on the defensive end. After staying with the Huskies over the first 20 minutes, the Aztecs wilted in the second half with UConn outscoring San Diego State, 42-21, in the stanza.

The dominant second-half showing allowed the Huskies to waltz to their ninth straight double-digit win in the NCAA Tournament.

Nobody has been able to stay with UConn and San Diego State was the latest example of that again.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Cam Spencer scored in a variety of ways to lead UConn. The 6-foot-4 guard netted 16 of his 18 points in the first half and also added five rebounds, three assists and three steals.

— Freshman guard Stephon Castle played a big role in UConn’s win. He notched a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

— Jaedon LeDee carried San Diego State’s offense with a team-high 18 points and eight rebounds. The senior forward made a living out of getting to the free-throw line in the first two rounds of the tournament, but only took four attempts from the charity stripe against the Huskies.

WAGER WATCH
The Huskies were the largest favorite out of any team in the Sweet 16 and they covered the 11.5-point spread set by FanDuel Sportsbook. With -115 odds on UConn covering, a $100 wager would have netted a total of $186.96.

UP NEXT
UConn inches closer to a second straight national championship as it advances to Saturday’s East Regional final at TD Garden. The Huskies will face the winner of No. 2 Iowa State and No. 3 Illinois. Time for tip-off has yet to be determined.