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HOUSTON — A tournament run full of dominance ends with another UConn national title in Texas.
UConn held off a small second-half push from San Diego State to win championship No. 5, this time a 76-59 win Monday night in Houston. It's not only the Huskies' fifth title since 1999, it's their second in Houston and fourth in Texas.
The Huskies' most recent title was a six-game coronation with double-digit victories, as the Huskies (31-8) won by an average of 20 points. In the latest win, Tristen Newton (19 points), tournament MOP Adama Sanogo (17) and Jordan Hawkins (16) led the way offensively against San Diego State, while UConn frustrated the Aztecs around the rim for much of the night.
San Diego State (32-7) shot just 32.2 percent and trailed by as many 16, but it had climbed tall mountains before. In their last three games, the Aztecs trailed No. 1 overall Alabama by 9, Creighton by 8 and FAU by 14 in the semifinals — and won them all. Though UConn ended up being too tall a challenge, the Aztecs were the only team to mount a late threat, cutting the deficit to 60-55 and 5:19 to work with.
Then Hawkins shut the door immediately with a clutch 3-pointer. San Diego State never got closer.
The win makes UConn only the second No. 4 seed to win it all, joining 1997 Arizona. It also halted what would have been a series of firsts with San Diego State. In their first Final Four appearance, the Aztecs fell one game shy of winning their first title, of becoming the first Mountain West team to win it all and being the first No. 5 seed to take home the crown.
Keshad Johnson, Lamont Butler — the buzzer-beating hero against FAU — and Darrion Trammell all finished within double figures, but the Aztecs slumped through an 11-minute stretch without a field goal in the first half and fell short of a huge rally in the second.
In the end, UConn won another championship and became one of only six programs to reach that mark.