Top-seeded Florida downs UConn 77-75, ending Huskies’ historic NCAA tournament run

[ad_1]

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Walter Clayton Jr. and No. 1 seed Florida ended UConn’s pursuit of a third straight national championship, with Clayton burying two key 3-pointers in the final three minutes of a scintillating 77-75 victory for the Gators in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

Clayton, a first-team All-America guard, finished with 23 points as Florida (32-4), one of the favorites for this year’s title, survived a strong challenge from coach Dan Hurley’s Huskies (24-11), who came in with modest expectations as a No. 8 seed but led for most of the second half.

Florida advances to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2017 and will play Colorado State or Maryland in the West Region semifinals in San Francisco.

UConn was seeking to become the first team to three-peat since UCLA’s run of seven straight titles from 1967-73.

The Huskies won the 2023 title in Houston and last year in Glendale, Arizona, joining Duke (1991-92) and Florida (2006-07) as the only schools to win back-to-back since the Bruins’ run under John Wooden.

MARYLAND 72, COLORADO STATE 71

SEATTLE (AP) — Derik Queen banked in a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer, and Maryland advanced to the Sweet 16 in a thriller, beating Colorado State.

Jalen Lake drilled a rainbow 3-pointer with 6 seconds left for No. 12 seed Colorado State, which was seeking to become the lowest-seeded team to advance to a regional semifinal in this edition of March Madness, which had been light on upset or buzzer-beaters.

Queen took care of that.

Maryland coach Kevin Willard called timeout with 3.6 seconds left and got the ball to Queen, the 6-foot-10 freshman center from Baltimore, who drove to his left, elevated over two defenders and kissed it off the glass as the horn sounded. The Terrapins advanced to face the West Region’s No. 1 seed, Florida, in San Francisco.

Queen led fourth-seeded Maryland (27-8) with 17 points, Rodney Rice scored 16 and Julian Reese had 15 points and 11 rebounds as each of Maryland’s starters…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/top-seeded-florida-downs-uconn-044616052.html

Author : The Associated Press

Publish date : 2025-03-24 04:46:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.