Rapid Recap: UConn tops Northwestern with ease
BROOKLYN – The UConn Huskies made quick work of the 9-seed Northwestern Wildcats at the Barclays Center, turning in another dominant performance to secure the program’s 20th Sweet 16 appearance and second in a row.
UConn got out to an 11-2 start that became an 18-4 lead with 12:00 left in the first half as the opponent had no answer for Donovan Clingan, who notched a double-double by halftime as he finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds.
UConn has now won eight NCAA Tournament games in a row.
The Wildcats missed their first six shots and in the meantime, the Huskies opened up a 7-0 lead as they feasted in the paint. Aside from a quartet of free throws, the team’s first 26 points came from around the rim.
UConn matched its dominance down low with intense defensive effort. Northwestern couldn’t get anything done offensively, shooting a paltry 8-for-31 from the field in the first half as the Huskies led by 22 at the break.
The lead got as high as 30 with 13:27 left in the game, though a cold shooting spell plagued the Huskies, allowing Northwestern to crawl to as close as 16 down with 5:26 remaining. But it wasn’t going to be close to enough.
The Huskies will return to action on Thursday at TD Garden in Boston against the winner of 5-seed San Diego State and 13-seed Yale. Tip-off is at 7:39pm ET on TBS.
Advanced Stats
OReb%: 18.5% (35th-best performance in 36 games)
DReb%: 77.8% (13th)
Free Throw Rate: 37.0% (15th)
TO Rate: 10.8% (T-4th)
Assists/Made baskets: 62.5% (T-19th)
eFG%: 56.5% (19th)
Box Score
UConn
Northwestern
Split
Game Flow
Win Probability
Press Conference