23d ago basketball Edit

UConn Hoops: Castle powers Huskies to National Championship

Stratton Stave • UConnReport

Staff Writer

In the college game, there’s a saying that’s commonly used, speaking of how as the season gets further, freshmen need to become sophomores. As streaky as first year players can often be, by the end of the season they’ve seen it all and they need to give it their all. With UConn’s starting lineup featuring one of the game’s best freshmen, they needed his best game in the Final Four against Alabama.

And they got just that. In a heroic effort from Stephon Castle, the UConn men’s basketball team came out victorious, sending them to the title game for the second straight season. The Georgia native, who has long since been a staple in NBA mock drafts, poured in 21 points and 5 rebounds on just 13 shots, giving his Huskies everything they needed, when they needed it.

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“I had it going,” he said postgame. “My teammates, they put me in great positions to be successful. I saw a couple shots fall in early.”

It did help that those shots were wide open, with the Alabama defenders electing to give Castle as much room to let it fly as he wanted.

“I noticed it like the first play of the game when we were trying to run a set and the guy was guarding me in the paint,” Castle noted of the Crimson Tide’s defense sagging off him. “I tried to take advantage of it early.”

Teammate Alex Karaban was complementary, but not surprised at Castle’s production.

“No, I'm not surprised at all, he said. “We see it in practice every day. We always want to be aggressive, the opportunity. He had the opportunity at the beginning of the game to be aggressive, and he took advantage of it. We know how talented of a player he is on both ends of the floor. I mean, it's not a surprise at all.”

Just as Castle was crucial for Connecticut’s success, the three ball was Alabama’s best friend. All season, the Crimson Tide has lived and died by the three and they kept with that on Saturday. It worked spectacularly in the first half, with Alabama nailing 8/11 from downtown. That kept them in the game, but even with that mark, they still had trouble getting ahead.

“They were 8-11 for three in the first half and we wanted to keep their three-point attempts to under 22 for the game,” UConn coach Dan Hurley mentioned. “The problem was we were on target for the attempts, but they made eight [of the first 11]. I think the feeling just with the group is it's body blows, it's body blows, it's continue to guard, continue to rebound, execute our offense. Eventually there will be a breaking point opportunity that will present itself, especially in this tournament. For us, we have just played so well.”

As Hurley indicated it might, the shooting cooled down for the Tide and their chances to win slipped away. UConn surged in the waning moments, pulling out with an 86-72 victory. The Huskies didn’t have a poor shooting night themselves with a 40% mark from distance, but did a nice job passing the rock and rebounding. They finished with 20 assists to Bama’s 9 along with a +8 mark on the glass.

After Castle, the next best performer was Donovan Clingan. The center wasn’t the driver for UConn’s great rebounding night, but had a nice night as a scorer. He tallied 18 points on 14 tries from the field and did well to block 4 shots. Those swats helped discourage Alabama from taking layups and scoring inside, which played a bigger role than just that statistic.

Tristen Newton, UConn’s All-America selection and the recent winner of the Bob Cousy award, didn’t have his best night as a scorer but had an impact in other ways. He needed all of 11 shots to get to 12 points, but had a nice night as a passer with 9 assists. Newton’s dual threat of shooting and facilitating is great when the shot isn’t falling, and has been helpful for the Huskies all year.

“Obviously I don’t want to force my shot and miss and miss and miss,” Newton said. “I have great teammates: great shooters, great lob threats, great finishers. It’s not about me, it’s about making the most of our opportunities.”

Cam Spencer and Karaban each had solid outings in their own right, but neither were earth shattering. Their 14 points and 8 boards were identical, but it took Spencer five more shots to get there. Given the nature of the Huskies taking turns having hot nights, it would not be shocking to see either of these two explode on Monday.

Grant Nelson got things started with a three, which is exactly what UConn did not want to see early on. Castle used a pair of wide open triples to answer, not necessarily his calling card. Still, Alabama continued to pour it on from beyond the arc, connecting on another pair of threes.

Even as the Crimson Tide did a great job putting the ball in the hoop, UConn seemed to always have an answer. Alabama tied it a number of times in the early moments, but didn’t lead again until Latrell Wrightshell Jr. drained one from deep.

That advantage was relatively short lived, with Clingan slamming home a dunk just a moment later to take it right back. As Newton struggled to get anything going, Wrightshell Jr. hit another.

Thankfully for the Huskies, Newton finally managed to put the pieces together with a personal 5-0 run that helped Connecticut move into the break with a four point lead.

“My teammates did a great job setting me up all night, but the shots weren’t falling,” Newton reflected on his mini-spurt. “They gave me the confidence to keep shooting and every point is important in a game. So if I get a chance to score, I’ll take advantage of it and I feel like it boosts the team’s morale, especially in that moment.”

Castle and Karaban used layups to get up eight, but Estrada and co. needed just 80 seconds to bring it back down to one. The back and forth nature of the game didn’t relent, with a Newton lob to Castle finishing off a 7-0 run for Connecticut.

Then came Grant Nelson. The “Dakota Durant” drove to the hoop on the break and proceeded to throw down one of the most vicious dunks of the season over Clingan. That deuce, along with two more on ensuing possessions, evened the score as the Tide threatened to take over.

Castle calmed the storm with a pair from the stripe and a push shot, while Samson Johnson used a thunderous jam to complete an 8-0 stretch. That run was ultimately what slammed the door on Alabama's chances, with the Tide never making it closer than six. Just like that, UConn punched their ticket to the National Championship game.

That upcoming contest feels like the perfect culmination of this season’s action, with the top two teams facing off. UConn vs Purdue for everything on Monday at 9:20 p.m. ET. Must see TV.