Since Joakim Noah’s Florida in 2006 and 2007, no team has managed to string together two titles in the men’s NCAA tournament. No champion had even managed to play the semi-final the year following his coronation. This is the step that Connecticut, defending champion, has just climbed. Among the favorites of March Madness, U-Conn had no difficulty in getting out of the clutches of the University of Illinois on Saturday (77-52) and thus reached the Final Four, scheduled for April 6 and 8 at Glendale, Arizona. The university will seek a sixth national success, which would make it equal to North Carolina – only UCLA (11) and Kentucky (8) have more extensive records.
To win in a contested match at the TD Garden in Boston, Connecticut went on an impressive 30-0 run. There were less than two minutes left in the first half when Marcus Domask (17 points) continued to give for Illinois, l one of the best attacks of the United States this season, the illusion of a close match (23-23). What followed was a lights out (17 of 67 shooting, 52 points scored, lowest total of the season) at the hands of U-Conn and its unstoppable giant Donovan Clingan (2.18 m, 22 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks and a large number of contested or discouraged shots). Illinois took the lead and went almost ten minutes without scoring a point (23-53, 28th, 17 missed shots in a row for Illinois).
10
The Connecticut Huskies scored a tenth victory in a row with a margin of at least ten units in “March Madness”. A record in the history of the NCAA tournament, according to ESPN. This season in decisive matches, U-Conn won by 39, 17, 30 and 25 points.
Alabama, first
The Huskies’ opponent in the Final Four will be Alabama, which will make its first-ever appearance in the Final Four after its 89-82 victory over Clemson. Mark Sears paved the way to victory thanks to his long-distance skill (7 3-point shots scored out of 14 attempts, 23 points in the end), like a prolific evening (16 out of 36) in this regard for the team nicknamed “Crimson Tide”. Winner of North Carolina in the previous round, Alabama, also led by Nick Pringle (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Jarin Stevenson (5/8 long distance), was up to 13 lengths behind (13-26, 13th).
Mohamed Diarra’s dream
Will a Frenchman join all these beautiful people in Glendale next week? Answer Sunday evening at the end of the quarter-finals. Mohamed Diarra plays a vital role in the North Carolina State Wolfpack, which had not reached the Elite Eight since 1986 and was not even sure of reaching the tournament a few weeks ago and has since had eight successes. The interior native of Montreuil (23 years old), author of 11 points and 15 rebounds during the last victory against Marquette (67-58), will face Duke. The last opposition will pit Purdue and Tennessee against each other.
