GLENDALE, Ariz. — Eventually, the 3-point shots stopped falling.
When it happened, Connecticut could smell blood.
Alabama persevered and tried to do something no one had ever done before in this NCAA Tournament: give the defending national champions a game.
But the shots weren’t falling anymore, and the Crimson Tide looked like a defeated team by the under-4 media timeout as the Huskies continued to take shots in the paint.
Coach Dan Hurley’s team was too strong, too deep, and played too relentlessly.
It wasn’t a blowout, but there was no longer any doubt as to how the match would go.
No. 1 UW is on track to return to the national championship game after a blowout 86-72 win over the University of Alabama, as is Zach Eady, who won the national player of the year award for the second straight year. They prepared for a showdown with No. 1 seed Purdue University. Monday night.
The Huskies have won double digits in the tournament for the 11th consecutive year, and are one win away from winning the tournament.
This wasn’t a team that barely had a chance, not Illinois, not San Diego State, not Northwestern.
In fact, Alabama led for much of the first half.
The Crimson Tide was hitting threes and wasn’t as scary as many other opponents in the tournament over the past two years. It didn’t matter.
Connecticut didn’t have to break a sweat in the final minutes, methodically defeating SEC opponents with an array of two-way weapons. It was well controlled.
As expected, Alabama had no answer, although center Donovan Clingan controlled the paint on both ends with 18 points, five rebounds, and floor blocks.
Freshman Stephon Castle picked the right time for his best offensive game of the year, tying a career-high 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, Cam Spencer and Alex Karaban each had 14 points, and Tristen Newton led the way. He scored 12 points and provided 9 assists.
For Alabama, Mark Sears had 24 points and Grant Nelson had 19 points and 15 rebounds.
Alabama accomplished a lot in the first 20 minutes.
He made 8 of 11 3-point shots. It hung with Connecticut on the glass and shot 50 percent from the field.
However, the Crimson Tide still trailed by four points at the break.
Trailing by five points midway through the first half, UW fought back with a 10-2 run and held the lead until intermission. Castle became a surprising offensive weapon, scoring a team-high 13 points. Sears made all five of Alabama’s shots and scored 11 points.
Coming out of halftime, the Huskies got off to a hot start and quickly extended their lead to eight points.
Alabama fought back with seven straight points, but the defending national champions cut the advantage back to eight points.
The Crimson Tide came roaring back, sending a message to UConn that it was in the game.
When Nelson scored in the lane, it was 56-all with 12:41 left to decide Purdue’s opponent in the title game.
Hurley then turned to Samson Johnson, a faster center, to counter Alabama’s speed.
Johnson helped kickstart an 8-0 run that included his own dunk and Castle’s four points.
A few possessions later, Newton added a 3-pointer to push the lead to a game-high nine points with 8:09 left.
