UConn’s bid for 3rd straight title endures with 67-59 win over Oklahoma in March Madness

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RALEIGH, N,C. — A third straight national title for UConn may be improbable, but it’s still possible.

Alex Karaban came through with a critical 3-pointer and a floater in the lane during a late run that helped the Huskies hold off Oklahoma 67-59 on Friday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

“Somebody’s going to have to put us down in this tournament for us to go away,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said of his team, which had a rocky regular season and even fell out of the AP Top 25.

Karaban had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies (24-10), the No. 8 in seed in the West Region. They extended their March Madness winning streak to 13 games, tied with Duke from 1991-93 for the second-longest without missing a tournament.

Karaban’s 3 on the catch from the right wing at the 3:40 mark gave UConn a four-point lead, and he followed with the floater at the 2:18 mark that pushed UConn ahead 64-58.

Solo Ball scored 14 points to help the Huskies advance to face top region seed Florida, a popular pick both to end UConn’s run and win the national title.

“Once we get out of the first round, we’ve been pretty good,” Hurley said.

Freshman Jeremiah Fears had 20 points to lead the ninth-seeded Sooners (20-14), who shot 32.1% and made 3 of 17 3-pointers.

“I couldn’t have asked for any better effort from our guys, especially defensively,” Sooners coach Porter Moser said.

Takeaways

Oklahoma: The Sooners were part of the Southeastern Conference’s record haul of 14 NCAA bids, though they were one of six SEC teams with a losing league record to get in. They went 7-14 after December.

UConn: The Huskies stand alongside Duke (1991-92) and Florida (2006-07) as the only teams to win back-to-back titles since UCLA’s run of seven straight from 1967-73. While they haven’t looked like a national title contender since they lost three straight games in Maui in November, they’re still alive for a three-peat after a…

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Publish date : 2025-03-22 05:51:00

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