UConn men dominant in rematch

Aztecs can’t keep up in second half

UConn 82 San Diego St. 52

Donovan clingan sat at his locker and pointed to the digital clock hanging on a wall a few feet away.

Uconn had just finished crushing San Diego State, 8252, in a rematch of last year’s national title game. How much time did the 7-foot-2-inch center have to savor the win?

“When does the next game start?” clingan asked.

“Saturday,” a reporter responded, mentioning the Huskies’ upcoming matchup with the winner of Illinois/Iowa State in the Elite Eight at TD garden.

“No, six minutes and 50 seconds is what I’ve got,” clingan said. “And then it’s lock into the next game and the next opponent.”

That’s the pressure of being the top overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and expected to repeat as national champions. That’s the mind-set that coach Dan Hurley instills in his team, which he openly refers to as “bulletproof.”

Hurley was asked after the game if he could sense when an opponent has had enough during one of the Huskies’ blowouts. Uconn has beaten its opponents by an average of 28.6 points during the first three rounds.

“I don’t, because I’m so maniacal about the next possession and I’ve seen so many teams blow leads,” Hurley said. “I coach pretty hard until the bitter end. I don’t really pick up on it until that last media [timeout], that last four-minute under when it looks like the game is in hand.

“But when you play elite defense, elite offense, rebound the ball at a high level, and play as hard as you can play, you eventually do have a chance to break teams down because we’re just not vulnerable in a lot of places.”

The Huskies didn’t look vulnerable at all on Thursday night. They dominated the game from the inside, pulling down 21 more rebounds than San Diego State and outscoring the Aztecs, 28-16, in the paint.

Uconn overcame a lukewarm offensive start and finished with 82 points, which fell right in line with their season average of 81.6.

The Huskies have no shortage of confidence, and it shows. They believe that they have the balance, depth, and defensive chops to publicly call themselves bulletproof while there are games still left to be played.

”I feel like what he meant by that was just the confidence that we have in our team and our depth,” guard Stephon castle said. “I feel like if we stay together, stay connected, and stay unselfish like we have been all season, I feel like we are bulletproof.” The Huskies have played three games.

The most they can play in the tournament is six, which means the journey is at least halfway over.

They’ve yet to face a true test of their abilities. No team has come within 18 points of them. Uconn’s confidence level is understandably high. guard Tristen Newton (17 points) said the Huskies take pride in the blowouts they are producing.

“Yeah, of course,” he said. “We’ve seen lots of teams in the country have close games and stuff like that. If we’re up like 15-20 points, we feel like we have enough defense to hold them off and win every game. So, yeah, we like to blow teams out.”

Uconn has looked like the best team in the country so far, and if Thursday night was any indication, its future opponents may be in trouble.

But this is march madness, where even the biggest goliath can get slayed on a given night.

The Huskies believe they are bulletproof. The question is: Are they untouchable?

“When we play that way, I mean, yeah,” castle said. “I don’t think there’s any team in the country that’s stopping us right now.”