UPDATE: UConn Men's Basketball Marches On To Elite 8! UConn destroyed Arkansas for their first Sweet 16 victory since 2014. Final: UConn 88, Arkansas 65.
According to CBS Sports "UConn picked up its third double-digit victory of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night as the No. 4 seed Huskies throttled No. 8 seed Arkansas 88-65 in the West Regional Semifinals during the opening night of Sweet 16 action. Jordan Hawkins led UConn with 24 points while Adama Sanogo contributed 18. The Huskies shot 57.4% as a team and limited Arkansas to just 31.7% shooting as the Razorbacks fell one game short of reaching the Elite Eight for a third straight season. UConn will play either No. 2 seed UCLA or No. 3 seed Gonzaga in the Elite Eight on Saturday and should be riding high into the matchup following yet another complete game."
UCONN is baaack! Uconn Huskies reach the first 'Sweet 16' in nine years. Dan Hurley’s words to his players this week resonated not only with his message of strength and will, but with his actions ''Perform as you have, to get to this point'' was the call to glory.
As told to The New York Post “I loosened up this week,” he said. “I probably backed off a little bit of the live stuff, to keep these guys fresher because I probably trust them more than some past teams. I just tried to present myself a lot more loose, a lot more confident, a lot more excited, and it started right at the selection show.”
"The Huskies performed up to expectations in a pair of commanding victories that sent them to the school’s first Sweet 16 in nine years. Two days after manhandling No. 13 Iona, fourth-seeded UConn took care of No. 5 Saint Mary’s, 70-55, in a West Region second-round game at Husky-heavy MVP Arena."
"It was similar to the win over Iona: a solid first half followed by an overwhelming second half. Connecticut was dominant at both ends of the floor after halftime and cruised to victory, earning a Sweet 16 showdown with No. 8 Arkansas in Las Vegas on Thursday."
"For Hurley, it is his first trip to the second weekend in his fifth NCAA Tournament, and washes away losing each of the previous two years in the first round as the higher seed. “The last couple years, March Madness was not good for us,” junior forward Adama Sanogo said. “So [Hurley] made sure we are not thinking about that too much and he makes sure that we understand that this is a different team and this is one of the best teams he’s ever coached.”
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