UConn romps back into Final Four with blowout of Illinois at NCAA tournament - ESPN

BOSTON — Late in the first half of Saturday's East Regional final between UConn and Illinois, the Huskies' dominant march toward back-to-back national championships seemed in danger. Not just their streak of double-digit wins, but staying alive in the NCAA tournament.

The Fighting Illini had fought back from an early deficit to tie the score with 1:49 left until halftime.

Less than eight minutes of game action later, UConn led by 30.

The Huskies ran off 30 straight points, an onslaught not seen this late in the NCAA tournament in recent memory, en route to a 77-52 victory to advance to their second straight Final Four.

UConn will face the winner of Saturday night's West Regional final between Alabama and Clemson.

Entering Saturday's game, one of the key tactical questions was how UConn would defend smooth-shooting center Coleman Hawkins and whether Illinois could utilize its 5-out offense to drag 7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan away from the basket and open up driving lanes.

It quickly became apparent Illinois had no real answer for dealing with Clingan. The projected lottery pick scored the first seven points of the game and produced a virtuoso defensive performance.

Clingan's presence in the paint was impossible to overcome. He was officially credited with five blocks, but that might have been one or two short. Illinois simply couldn't score at the rim; the Illini missed eight of their first 10 layups and shot just 28.6% from 2-point range in the first half. Illinois star Terrence Shannon Jr. shot 2-for-12 and completely stopped driving to the basket midway through the second half.

UConn scored another blowout victory in Saturday's 77-52 Elite Eight win over Illinois, becoming the fourth team to win three games by 25 or more