Dominant Sanogo Lifts Huskies to Sweet 16
The Story: Adama Sanogo showed why he is one of the best big men in the country — and why the No. 4 seed UConn men are a threat to win the NCAA Tournament — as the Huskies blasted Saint Mary’s 70-55 in a second-round game yesterday to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2014.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: Sanogo owned the Albany subregional. He scored 52 points in two games and was a dominant presence on the boards as he and Donovan Clingan, his backup, annihilated Iona and Saint Mary’s.
• UConn made its first Sweet 16 since Shabazz Napier‘s title run nine years ago and Dan Hurley, temporarily, got the monkey off his back in guiding the Huskies to a pair of dominant second-half performances. UConn took a 31-30 halftime lead against Saint Mary’s and led by as many as 18 in the second half.
• Sanogo scored 24 points on 11-of-16 shooting and had eight rebounds. It was a dominant stretch for Sanogo, who muscled Iona and Saint Mary’s, the nation’s top defense statistically.
• Tristen Newton stepped in for a no-show from Hawkins in the first half with nine of his 13 points before halftime. Newton had 13 points and five assists yesterday.
• Our favorite new March Madness thing? When the players and coaches slap the sticker on the bracket. Here’s Hurley with the name slap last night.
HELLO, ARK-KANSAS: The Huskies will play No. 8 seed Arkansas, which stunned defending national champion No. 1 Kansas on Saturday. The Razorbacks are athletic and talented, but the Huskies are going to be favored going into the game Thursday in Las Vegas.
WHAT DID HURLEY SAY? “Playing at UConn, it’s just, you deal with a lot more pressure and criticism and like immediate meltdowns on social when you lose. I think in the first and even second round of tournaments, it’s more of a burden to play at UConn than it is an advantage. … Especially in that first-round game, just being able to get that first one, I thought the team just was a lot looser today. Obviously, now you get to the Sweet 16, you can really just kind of go out and just let it rip.”
SECOND-HALF TEAM! UConn blew the doors off Iona and Saint Mary’s in the second half. The Huskies outscored Iona 50-24 in the second half on Friday and Saint Mary’s 39-25 last night.
• A lot of that has to do with Hawkins, who had zero points and is 0-for-7 in the first half so far. He scored 12 points in the second half yesterday with four 3-pointers and set the tone for a dominant second half. What gives with Hawkins’ no-shows in the first half? Foul trouble, for one, but if the Huskies can put in a full 40 minutes, we are on to something.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE: UConn shot 27-for-50 and 10-for-22 from 3-point range, along with 34 points in the paint. That ability to score from anywhere on the court, and efficiently, is what has made the Huskies one of the better offensive teams left in the tourney.
• Clingan remains the best backup center in the country. In 13 minutes, Clingan had four points, five rebounds and three blocks and absolutely shut down the lane in crucial second-half minutes.
REST OF THE BIG EAST: The conference makeup of the Sweet 16 isn’t bad. The Huskies are joined by Creighton, which destroyed Baylor, and Xavier, which beat Pitt, in the Sweet 16. The Big East did lose No. 2 seed Marquette in the second round, which is a disappointment. Providence was a first-round casualty at the hands of No. 6 seed Kentucky and may have also lost coach Ed Cooley, who is rumored to be Georgetown’s top target.
• Chances are good for the Big East to continue to move forward. UConn is favored over Arkansas and Creighton has to take on No. 15 Princeton. Xavier plays No. 2 seed Texas.
OUR TAKE: UConn has the goods to get to the Final Four. It flexed its dominance against teams that struggled with size, strength and athleticism. It will have a tougher go of it in the Sweet 16 in Arkansas, which may be a No. 8 seed but has the physical traits to match up with the Huskies.
• If you told us the Huskies will make the Sweet 16 before the season, would you have considered that a success? Yes. Right now? Well, it’s hard to not get greedy when a No. 8 seed, and not the No. 1 seed, is lining up across from you. The Huskies were a trendy pick to come out of the West Region, and nothing we saw the first week of the NCAA Tournament has led us to conclude they are going to fall short.
— John Silver
Women Renew Rivalry with Baylor
The Story: Coming off a dominant first-round performance, the No. 2 seed UConn women will try to advance to their 29th straight Sweet 16 when they make their final homecourt appearance of the season tonight against an old nemesis, the Baylor Bears, at Gampel Pavilion (9 p.m., ESPN).
REMEMBER WHEN … : The Huskies (30-5) last saw the No. 7 seed Bears (20-12) two years ago in the San Antonio bubble with a Final Four berth on the line.
• UConn prevailed, 69-67, behind a game-high 28 points from Paige Bueckers and a controversial no-call on Baylor’s final shot that went the Huskies’ way.
WHAT HAPPENED: With UConn up 68-67, the Bears had the ball and a chance to win the game. DiJonai Carrington drove the left side and pulled up for a shot with 3.5 seconds left.
• She apparently drew contact from both Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Aaliyah Edwards, but no foul was called. UConn then made a free throw for the final difference in the game.
WHO’S LEFT: Only five players remain from that epic matchup, including Edwards and Aubrey Griffin, who were freshmen and played 26 and 25 minutes, respectively.
• For Baylor, Sarah Andrews and Caitlin Bickle combined for 17 minutes off the bench. Jaden Owens was a reserve who didn’t get in the game.
• It ended up being Kim Mulkey‘s final game at Baylor before she moved to LSU.
THE DEBATE CONTINUES: When asked about the play, Edwards said she “already knew” the question was coming: “I mean, my feelings from the game, we won it, so I think that’s really what I take from that game.” Meanwhile, Bickle said, “No comment. That was already answered two years ago.”
HOW GOOD IS BAYLOR? Now coached by Nicki Collen, who came from the Atlanta Dream, the Bears had their streak of 12 consecutive Big 12 regular-season titles snapped this season.
• While they might not be as elite as they were when they won the national title in 2019, the Bears remain dangerous and capable of advancing to their 13th Sweet 16 in 14 years.
WHAT A COMEBACK: The Bears nearly had their NCAA Tournament end quickly Saturday against Alabama, when they trailed by 18 points after only the first quarter. But Baylor battled all the way back to take its first lead of the game midway through the third quarter.
• Trailing once again by three with 53 seconds left, the Bears scored the final seven points of the game, all on free throws, to survive and move on.
• Ja’Mee Asberry led Baylor with season-high 26 points, hitting 7-of-13 shots from 3-point range. Asberry and Andrews, an all-Big 12 first-team selection, give the Bears a strong backcourt that has the potential to cause some problems for UConn.
FIRST ROUND: The Huskies, who hold a 5-4 series edge over Baylor, made easy work of Vermont in their first-round matchup Saturday, routing the overmatched Catamounts, 95-52.
• UConn won its 30th game, making it the 26th 30-win season for Geno Auriemma in his 38 years as the Huskies’ coach.
AN INSIDE JOB: Vermont lacked the size, skill and physicality to contain Edwards or Dorka Juhasz at either end of the court.
• Edwards finished with a season-high 28 points on an amazing 13-of-15 shooting while Juhasz scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season.
• The two also combined to block five shots, and UConn held a lopsided 54-10 scoring edge in the paint.
A PERFECT 10: With 10 players available for the fourth straight game, the Huskies’ depth and versatility were on full display, continuing their momentum from the Big East tournament despite a 10-day break between games.
• Caroline Ducharme, who had missed 13 games after a concussion, scored 12 points off the bench for the Huskies, who got 29 bench points overall.
THE FUDD EFFECT: Azzi Fudd, who was sidelined for 22 games with a right knee injury, made her first start since December. After hitting a midrange jumper for the first bucket of the game, Fudd struggled with her shot the rest of the way. She connected on only two of 10 shots — one of eight from 3-point range — and ended up with five points.
• Nevertheless, the Huskies continue to reap the benefits from her presence on the court. As a constant scoring threat, Fudd draws plenty of defensive attention every time she touches the ball, opening offensive opportunities for other players.
• As a result, the Huskies have won the last four games by an average of 37.7 points per game. They also enter tonight’s game as 15-point favorites to beat Baylor and advance to the Sweet 16 in Seattle.
INJURY UPDATE: Geno said Lou Lopez Senechal (leg) and Griffin (back spasms) would be available for tonight’s game after playing limited minutes against Vermont.
• Lopez Senechal was injured in the third quarter and didn’t return to the game, while Griffin only played six minutes. Geno said both players could have played more, if needed, but they were held out as a precautionary measure.
WHAT DID GENO SAY? “Any time you have a coaching change and a change of philosophy and a change in personnel, you’re going to get a different look. I watched ’em play and their style of play’s a little bit different. Nicki coaching in the pros, I think there’s a lot of that influence on their team, the way they play. … More so guard play than the post players that Baylor had in the past. So, they traded one thing for another and still managed to get to this point. The way they shot it yesterday they could probably beat anybody. So this time of the year prepare for everything and expect anything.”
— David Kull
Top photo: Adama Sanogo goes to the basket during the Huskies’ NCAA Tournament game against Saint Mary’s at MVP Arena in Albany, New York. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
