Adama Sanogo leads UConn past Miami and into national championship in 72-59 win

We already saw one comeback in the first Final Four game Saturday, and at one point it looked like the second could provide another. However, UConn quickly put those thoughts to rest, responding well to a second-half push from Miami to pull away for a 72-59 victory.

It was hardly ever in doubt for the Huskies, who have now won all five of their NCAA Tournament games by double digits. They have trailed for a total of just 47 seconds in their past three contests.

Huskies big man Adama Sanogo was the star of the game, helping the team get off to quick starts in both the first and second halves. He finished the game with a team-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting and 10 rebounds. He became the first player in NCAA Tournament history to record more than 100 points and 40 rebounds, according to CBS Sports.

“It sounds great,” Sanogo said of advancing to the title. “We worked for this all year and being able to go to the national championship feels great. Asking me about going to the national championship, it feels great.”

After entering halftime with a 13-point lead, UConn increased it to as many as 20 in the second half as Sanogo scored the first four points. However, the Hurricanes went on an 11-3 run of their own to cut the deficit to 12 and later down to single digits at 53-45 following a 3-pointer from Isaiah Wong with 11:41 to go.

That was as close as it would get, however, as Donovan Clingan scored a layup on the next possession to bring the lead back to double digits for good. That was the start of a 7-0 run for the Huskies as they increased their advantage back to 15. An alley-oop dunk from Tristen Newton to Andre Jackson seemed to be the dagger, increasing the lead to 68-54 with 3:36 to play.

UConn wasted no time getting out to an early advantage. The Huskies began the game on a 9-0 run and already held a double-digit lead by the 13:47 mark at 14-4. Sanogo scored eight of his 13 first-half points over those first six minutes, including back-to-back 3-pointers during the 9-0 start.

“I work on this every day,” Sanogo said of his 3-pointers. “Coming into a game, I knew if I shot my shot, I would be ready for it. I saw them drop and said ‘aight, I am open.’ And I shot it because I work on it every single day.”

Miami responded to come back and tie the game at 19 with 8:23 to go, but UConn went on a 16-5 run from that point to take a 37-24 lead into halftime. UConn capped that off with a 3-pointer from Alex Karaban to take even more momentum into the locker room. It was one of six triples from the Huskies in the half.

It is the first trip to the national title game for UConn since 2014. Additionally, the Huskies have never lost a national championship game they’ve played in with an all-time record of 4-0.

With the win, UConn advances to face San Diego State, which defeated Florida Atlantic on a buzzer-beater Saturday, in search of its fifth national championship on Monday.