FINAL FOUR BOUND: No. 1 UConn men’s basketball dominates No. 3 Illinois

BOSTON, MA (WFSB) - The University of Connecticut dubbed the TD Garden in Boston “Storrs North.”

The top-seeded men’s basketball team dominated third-seeded Illinois in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight on Saturday.

The final score was 77-52.

UConn jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead to open the game, 7 of it belonging to Donovan Clingan. Illinois couldn’t score for the first 4 minutes of the game.

Illinois spent the next 2 minutes adding 5 points to the board.

The Fighting Illini got it back to within 2 with about 11 minutes go to in the first half. Marcus Domask was the driving force with 9 points. UConn still led 15-13.

The Huskies countered with a few more buckets to make it 19-13 with 7:20 to go until halftime.

Illinois had it back to within 2 points again with just under 4:30 to go in the half. Samson Johnson had a ferocious dunk for UConn; however, the Fighting Illini got those two points back in a hurry.

It was 23-21 with about 3:30 to go.

Illinois tied it up with under 2 minutes left in the half.

Hassan Diarra had something to say about that though and nailed a three off an offensive rebound. That put UConn up 26-23 with 59 seconds to go.

Tristen Newton added a couple of free throws after that. With 33 seconds left, UConn led 28-23. That was the score at the half.

Clingan opened the second half with a deuce.

In the blink of an eye, UConn was up 12 with 17:09 to go, 35-23. The last two points were from a big Clingan jam. He was up to 14 points.

UConn went on a 15-0 run in the first 4 minutes of the half. They led 39-23.

They opened it up further with an Alex Karaban three, Clingan free throws, a Johnson bucket, and a Karaban and-one, 53-23.

The Huskies went on a 30-0 run before Illinois finally got on the board in the second half.

With 7:33 to go in the game, UConn’s lead ballooned to 63-32.

From there, the Huskies never looked back.

Clingan finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Cam Spencer chipped in with a double-double as well. He added 12 rebounds and 11 points.

How it was watched

The game aired on TBS.

Streamers were able to find it on Max (subscribers only) and the March Madness Live apps.

Radio listeners tuned in to the UConn Sports Network, FOX Sports 97-9.

Watch parties were scheduled for Kinsmen Brewing in Southington and Two Roads Brewing in Stratford. A special pregame tournament reception happened at 2:30 p.m. in Boston.

The trek beforehand

UConn defeated each of its NCAA Tournament opponents by double digits.

The Huskies pummeled the San Diego State Aztecs in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night, 82-52. It was a close game during the first half. UConn ripped the game open during the second behind Cam Spencer’s 18 points and Stephon Castle’s double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Sunday, they beat 9th-seeded Northwestern University in the round of 32, 75-58.

They opened the tournament with a 91-52 win over Stetson University.

What’s next

The Huskies move on to the Final Four in Phoenix against fourth-seeded Alabama.

Stay with Channel 3 for continuing coverage of UConn’s trek toward a second straight national championship.