Achi news desk-
BOSTON: Connecticut coach Dan Hurley won’t shy away from the idea that his team has consistently been the best in college basketball this season.
The Huskies’ 33-3 record and the dominant manner in which they have won along the way has proven that.
He also knows that means next to nothing as they return to the Sweet 16 still four wins away from becoming the first team since Florida in 2007 to repeat as NCAA Tournament champions.
“We’re not going to be able to trade that for anything tomorrow night against the team we faced last year in the finals,” Hurley said on Wednesday as his team prepared for its East Region semi-final in by fifth-seeded San Diego State. a team it beat in the NCAA title game last April. “But we bring the confidence. We believe. We think we are meant to win these games.”
The Huskies have reason to feel that way, having won each of their first two tournament games by an average of 28 points.
For San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher, it will be a chance to overcome a UConn program that beat the Aztecs (26-10) and Kawhi Leonard in the 2011 Sweet 16 when the Huskies were led by Kemba Walker. In last year’s championship game, UConn jumped out to a 16-point lead and never let San Diego State get within less than five points in the second half.
This time UConn will also play at the Boston Celtics’ TD Garden, just 85 miles from their campus.
“It’s like repeating. I mean, we have to do what they did for us,” Dutcher said. “We’re in their backyard now, and hopefully we’ll get a chance to beat them close to home.”
Aztecs senior Lamont Butler welcomes another shot at the Huskies.
“They took us down last year, so we definitely want to get back a little bit,” he said.
The other half of the bracket features a matchup between second-seeded Iowa State (29-7), which has the best defensive rating of the remaining teams, against No. 3 seed Illinois (28- 8), has the highest offensive rating, according to Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency ratings.
Both are also among the six remaining Sweet 16 teams with Final Four appearances, but no titles.
Iowa State’s only Final Four berth was 80 years ago.
Coach TJ Otzelberger said the Cyclones’ old-school, 57-53 win over Houston in January was emblematic of the kind of defense-first mentality that has served them best this season.
“You feel so great in the locker room after all those sacrifices, all that hard work, all that unity, all that time you beat the No. 2 team in the country,” Otzelberger said. “I truly believe that has given our men a greater sense of purpose and confidence.”
Illinois hasn’t been to a Final Four since 2005 and has been relying on its unorthodox “spoil ball,” aimed at different post-ups and matchups.
It’s also about the camaraderie of a group that wasn’t above embracing luck as it entered a venue decorated with shamrocks.
When senior forward Coleman Hawkins walked into the news conference along with teammates Marcus Domask and Quincy Guerrier, he noticed that their name placards were in a different order than where they had sat in their previous media sessions . He changed them quickly.
“Malignant?” asked the moderator.
“A little bit,” Hawkins replied.
But perhaps the biggest reason for the Illini’s success on offense is senior guard Terrence Shannon Jr., who is averaging a career-high 23.3 points per game and scored 56 points in the Illini’s first two NCAA Tournament wins over Morehead State and Duquesne .
It has made him play most of the season under a cloud after being accused of rape in September.
Shannon played in Illinois’ first 11 games before the university suspended him from team activities when the criminal charge was filed against him. He returned after six games when a federal judge intervened, ruling that his civil rights were violated by a lack of due process.
He has not spoken to the media since then and was not yet available for interviews Wednesday.
Coach Brad Underwood said his team did its best to adapt.
“I’ve said from the beginning that I was going to coach the guys I had in the locker room,” Underwood said. “I was going to be the biggest fan of those guys that I coach every day. We had to find a way to thrive during that difficult time. Then when he came back and joined us, he was part of our team again. He has always been a great teammate. We got it back, and here we are sitting today.”
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AP March Madness Bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Associated Press)
