A long wait over for Clemson
Tigers back in Elite Eight for first time since 1980 after beating Arizona
Chase Hunter scored 18 points and converted a three-point play with 25.7 seconds remaining, and Clemson advanced to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history, beating second seed Arizona 77-72 in a West Region semifinal on Thursday night.
PJ Hall added 17 points for the sixth-seeded Tigers (24-11), who advanced to face either top-seeded North Carolina or No. 4 Alabama.
Clemson last reached the final eight in 1980, when there were 48 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Brad Brownell was making his second appearance in the second weekend of March Madness in his 14 seasons with the Tigers.
“We’ve battled a lot of things. This is a great moment for Clemson basketball,” Brownell said.
Jaden Bradley scored 18 points, Oumar Ballo had 15 and Caleb Love 13 for Arizona (27-9), which had a horrific shooting night, going 5of-28 (17.9 per cent) from threepoint range. Love missed all nine of his attempts beyond the arc.
Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd was ousted in the Sweet 16 for the second time in his three seasons.
After Bradley’s three-pointer got Arizona within 72-70, Hunter put it out of reach when he drove for a layup while being fouled by Bradley. Hunter’s free throw made it a five-point game.
“I just wanted to make a play,” Hunter said. “At the end of the day, I wanted to get to the basket, wanted to get an and-one, wanted to make something happen, and that’s what I did.”
The Wildcats had the edge in the paint and in transition, but the Tigers were 29 of 59 from the field (49.2 per cent). Ian Schieffelin finished with 14 points and Hunter’s brother, Dillon, made a layup for the final margin, his only basket of the game.
Connecticut 82 San Diego State 52
The rematch turned into another mismatch for UConn. Stephon Castle had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the top-seeded Huskies and the defending NCAA champions advanced to the Elite Eight with another double-digit victory, beating San Diego State 82-52 in a rematch of last year’s title game.
Cam Spencer scored 18 points and Tristen Newton added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies (34-3), who will play the winner of the other East Region semifinal between No. 2 Iowa State and No. 3 Illinois for a spot in the Final Four in Glendale, Ariz.
A year after cruising to their fifth national championship — winning their six NCAA Tournament games by an average of almost 20 points — the Huskies followed up blowouts last weekend with their ninth straight double-digit March Madness victory. They have won their games in this tournament by 39, 17 and 30 points.
“We suck at winning close games,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “You've got to go with the alternative.”
Backed by a virtual home crowd at TD Garden — Boston is about 90 miles from UConn's Storrs, Conn., campus — the Huskies made it a double-digit lead early in the second half, 20 with about seven minutes left and 30 in the final minutes, after the teams sent in their benches.
Hurley's son Andrew even got into the game with 1:44 left, drawing a celebratory cheer.
“We tried to make it like Storrs North,” Castle said. “They showed up for us.”