All posts tagged: UConn

Michigan Muscles Its Way to Program’s 2nd National Title, Beating Stubborn UConn 69-63

Michigan Muscles Its Way to Program’s 2nd National Title, Beating Stubborn UConn 69-63

Published by Sam Flores

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Michigan’s new Fab Five threw style points out the door and brought home a prize not even the school’s most famous team could capture. The five fabulous transfers who make up coach Dusty May’s starting lineup got down and dirty with the rest of the Wolverines — coming out with the national title trophy Monday night after muscling their way to a 69-63 victory over stingy, stubborn UConn. Michigan only made two 3-pointers all night. The Final Four’s most outstanding player, Elliot Cadeau, led the Wolverines with 19 points, including the team’s first 3, which came 7:04 into the second half. The second 3, from freshman Trey McKenney, came with 1:50 left and felt like a dagger, giving May’s team — which had scored 90 points in five straight March Madness games leading to the final — a nine-point lead. To no one’s surprise, UConn fought to the finish. Solo Ball banked in a 3 to cut the deficit to four with 37 seconds left — and after two missed free throws, …

Geno Auriemma Apologizes for Tense Exchange With Dawn Staley After UConn Loss

Geno Auriemma Apologizes for Tense Exchange With Dawn Staley After UConn Loss

Published by Sam Flores

PHOENIX (AP) — UConn coach Geno Auriemma has apologized for his actions during a heated exchange with Dawn Staley at the end of the Huskies’ loss to South Carolina in the women’s Final Four. A visibly upset Auriemma went over to Staley in the final seconds of South Carolina’s 62-48 victory on Friday night and appeared to chastise her. Coaches from both teams had to separate them. When the game finally ended, Auriemma walked off the court to the locker room without going back to shake hands with anyone from South Carolina. “There’s no excuse for how I handled the end of the game vs. South Carolina. It’s unlike what I do and what our standard is here at Connecticut,” the Hall of Fame coach said in a statement on Saturday. “I want to apologize to the staff and the team at South Carolina. It was uncalled for in how I reacted. The story should be how well South Carolina played, and I don’t want my actions to detract from that. I’ve had a great …

Geno Auriemma Apologizes for Tense Exchange With Dawn Staley After UConn Loss

Auriemma Rips Officials and Beefs With Staley, but Bad Night for Strong and Fudd Is Why UConn Fell

Published by Sam Flores

PHOENIX (AP) — UConn’s Geno Auriemma was not a happy man. With the officiating. With his team’s performance. With South Carolina coach Dawn Staley. The Huskies coach ripped into the officiating during a live TV interview and then had a heated argument with Staley in the final seconds of their 62-48 loss to the Gamecocks. But a rough night for UConn stars Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd was the main cause of the Huskies’ poor showing in the national semifinals of the women’s Final Four on Friday night. A minute after his sideline blowup, Auriemma stalked off the floor alone, stewing over the nightmare performance. Fudd — a senior — shouldered the blame, saying she felt she let the team down. “I thought some of our shots were a little rushed, some of our offense was a little rushed, out of pace,” Fudd said. “But when we got a lot of good looks, a lot of shots in our offense, shots that we are used to taking, we just didn’t hit very many.” The Huskies …

UConn fans send off men’s basketball team to Final Four

UConn fans send off men’s basketball team to Final Four

Published by Sam Flores

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. U.S. fighter jet goes down over Iran 01:03 U.S. economy added 178,000 jobs in March 01:16 Attack on Iran’s B1 bridge kills at least eight people 00:24 Astronauts describe space as they rocket toward the moon 00:55 ‘Bob’s Burgers’ actor Eugene Mirman injured in car crash 00:20 Pete Hegseth forces out Army’s top officer 00:41 Husband charged with murder in death of Florida vice mayor 01:16 Jen Shah speaks out for first time since prison release 01:28 Most claims in Lively’s lawsuit against Baldoni dismissed 00:28 Now Playing UConn fans send off men’s basketball team to Final Four 00:37 UP NEXT Arizona girl who went missing 32 years ago found alive 00:24 Pope Leo washes priests’ feet in Holy Thursday ceremony 00:37 Tiger Woods says he was ‘talking to the president’ after crash 00:53 Craigslist founder to give away $1 billion 00:27 Video shows Tiger Woods being handcuffed after crash 00:36 Trump fires Attorney General Pam Bondi 01:02 Bodycam video …

The Final Four is set with UConn stunning Duke to join Illinois, Arizona and Michigan : NPR

The Final Four is set with UConn stunning Duke to join Illinois, Arizona and Michigan : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

UConn guard Braylon Mullins, right, celebrates his game winning basket with guard Malachi Smith (0) during the second half in the Elite Eight of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Duke, Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Washington. Stephanie Scarbrough/AP hide caption toggle caption Stephanie Scarbrough/AP All that talent at Arizona and Michigan. All that momentum and good vibes at UConn. And somebody has to be play the part of the unheralded “little guy.” At the Final Four next weekend, that role belongs, improbably, to Illinois. In a sign of the times, the Illinii — a Big Ten team with more wins in the conference over the last seven seasons than any other program — will pass for something resembling Cinderella when college basketball’s biggest party kicks off in Indianapolis on Saturday. The first challenge for coach Brad Underwood’s team will be stopping a hard-charging UConn juggernaut that came from 19 points down and got a game-winner from the logo with 0.4 seconds left from an Indy native — Braylon Mullins — to make its third …

Sarah Strong Has a Double-Double and Defending Champ UConn Cruises to Elite Eight, Beating UNC 63-42

Sarah Strong Has a Double-Double and Defending Champ UConn Cruises to Elite Eight, Beating UNC 63-42

Published by Sam Flores

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Sarah Strong had 21 points and 10 rebounds as defending national champion and overall No. 1 seed UConn overwhelmed North Carolina 63-42 on Friday, sending the Huskies to the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament for the 30th time. Strong, a sophomore forward, is a North Carolina native and AP All-American alongside teammate Azzi Fudd. Strong made four consecutive field goals in a two-minute span right after Blanca Quiñonez put UConn (37-0) ahead to stay with a layup early in the second quarter. Quiñonez scored 16 points and Fudd had 10 for the Huskies, who are seeking their 13th national championship. They extended their overall winning streak to 53 games. Indya Nivar had 20 points for fourth-seeded North Carolina (28-8), which hasn’t advanced past the Sweet 16 since 2014, which was 20 years after its only national title. UConn will play sixth-seeded Notre Dame in the Fort Worth Region 1 final Sunday to fill the first slot for the Final Four in Phoenix. Hannah Hidalgo had a 31-point triple-double …

UConn Teammates Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd Headline AP All-America First Team

UConn Teammates Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd Headline AP All-America First Team

Published by Sam Flores

Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd helped UConn to an undefeated season heading into March Madness. The pair became the first teammates in six years to make The Associated Press All-America team. It’s the 10th time that teammates have made the first team, seven of those involving UConn players. The last pair to achieve the feat was Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu and Ruthy Hebard in 2020. Strong and Fudd were joined by Vanderbilt’s Mikayla Blakes, UCLA’s Lauren Betts and Texas’ Madison Booker. Strong was a unanimous choice from the 31-member national media panel that chooses the AP Top 25 each week. Blakes and Betts received all but two first-place votes. Strong, who set numerous records as a freshmen for the Huskies, raised her game in her sophomore season, helping the No. 1 Huskies to a perfect record heading into the NCAA Tournament. She averaged 18.5 points and 7.6 rebounds a game and shot 60.1% from the field. Fudd was right behind her, with 17.7 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 43.6% from the 3-point line. “I’m thrilled …

Duke No. 1 overall in men’s tournament, UConn women get top seed : NPR

Duke No. 1 overall in men’s tournament, UConn women get top seed : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

The Duke Blue Devils were the top overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Division I men’s college basketball tournament after a 74-70 win over Virginia in Saturday’s ACC Tournament title game. Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images March Madness is upon us. It’s Selection Sunday, the day the brackets for the men’s and women’s NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments are released. The 32-2 Duke Blue Devils, fresh off a 74-70 win in the ACC Tournament championship game on Saturday over Virginia, were named the top overall seed in the men’s tournament. On the women’s side, the UConn Huskies will enter the NCAA tournament undefeated for the first time since 2018 with ambitions of repeating as national champions. They were named the women’s top overall seed.  You can see the complete bracket for the men’s tournament here, and the women’s bracket can be found here. The men’s tournament begins with the “First Four” matchups on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the full Round of 64 beginning Thursday. The women’s tournament follows behind …

Unbeaten UConn Joined by UCLA, Texas and South Carolina as No. 1 Seeds for Women’s NCAA Tournament

Unbeaten UConn Joined by UCLA, Texas and South Carolina as No. 1 Seeds for Women’s NCAA Tournament

Published by Sam Flores

UConn edged UCLA as the No. 1 overall seed in women’s NCAA Tournament when the bracket was announced Sunday night, Having the top spot in March Madness didn’t really matter to Huskies coach Geno Auriemma as he looks to lead the team to another undefeated season with the school’s 13th national championship. “We have been in that situation before, not that much different than being a No. 2 seed or a No. 1 seed somewhere else,” Auriemma said. “I think it is important that we recognize that there are a lot of good teams out there and there are times I felt like we deserved a No. 1 seed based on our wins, our record, who we have beaten and it didn’t pan out that way. This year it did.” The Huskies (34-0) need six more victories to complete the seventh undefeated season in school history. They are trying to become the first team to repeat as champion since the program won four in a row from 2013-16. UConn was joined by UCLA, Texas and …

2023 March Madness: UConn defeats San Diego State in the national championship game

2023 March Madness: UConn defeats San Diego State in the national championship game

Published by Sam Flores

CNN  —  The University of Connecticut won its fifth men’s basketball national title with a 76-59 victory over San Diego State University on Monday night at NRG Stadium in Houston. Senior guard Tristen Newton led UConn (31-8) with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Final Four Most Outstanding Player Adama Sanogo, a junior forward, chipped in with 17 points and 10 rebounds. “We weren’t ranked going into the year so we had the chip on our shoulder,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley told game broadcaster CBS. “We knew the level that we could play at, even through those dark times,” he added, referencing the team’s six losses in eight games during the regular season. He said going into the tournament his group had confidence garnered during the season. “And when you have the type of leaders like Andre Jackson (game-high six assists Monday) and Adama Sanogo, they kept this team together, got us back on track and we knew we were the best team in the tournament going in and we just had to play …