TD Garden – Boston, Massachusetts 

The San Diego State Aztecs and UConn Huskies met in the Sweet 16 in a rematch of last year’s National Championship game. The contest was all UConn, outside of an early start by the Aztecs. The Huskies took a dominant second half and ran away with it on their way to a 30-point win.

“Congratulations to UConn and coach Hurley,” head coach Brian Dutcher said. “We wish them the best of luck moving forward. They are an outstanding team and will be very dangerous down the road. With that being said, I want to say that it’s not the ending we will remember, it’s the journey. The journey is everything and we had an incredible journey together.”

The Aztecs began the game well, going 4-7 to start. Darrion Trammell nailed a triple to give SDSU a 10-9 advantage right before the U16 timeout. Jaedon LeDee scored the game’s first seven points, then Trammell followed with the three.

Shortly after, UConn started to take control. The Huskies started the contest, making 11 of their first 16 shots. Most were easy lay-ins. However, they also drained four of their first six triples.

UConn held a 24-19 lead as Elijah Saunders converted an and-one finish.

Elijah Saunders gets the bucket + the foul 🔥#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/2IpqsiG83j

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 28, 2024

The San Diego State defense started to come into full effect. UConn had a 1-for-10 stretch where it allowed SDSU to slowly creep back into the contest.

Big three for the Aztecs!#MarchMadness @Aztec_MBB pic.twitter.com/88dnXkOj32

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 29, 2024

The Aztecs trimmed the lead to four thanks to LeDee’s offense. He and Parrish were the only two to contribute offensively. However, the Aztecs ended the half going 1-for-8 as the Huskies increased their lead to nine by the half.

Cam Spencer was all over the place for the Huskies. The guard scored 16 points on 6-9 shooting. He even had two steals.

UConn led 40-31 at the break.

Shutting down Spencer was the No. 1 priority for the Aztecs in the second half. They did that, allowing only two points. However, everyone else stepped upon for UConn.

UConn then took over to begin the second half. SDSU had a tough time shooting at just 30% in the first eight minutes of the half. The Huskies grew their lead to as much as 16 but led by 14 at the U12 timeout. They were dominating the boards. They had a 20-rebound advantage over SDSU as they grabbed 40 before we even hit the 10-minute mark in the second half.

That trend continued. It allowed the Huskies to have 12 second-chance points, whereas SDSU had just seven.

Midway through the second half, the Aztecs went on yet another scoring drought. They missed eight straight shots and didn’t convert for over four minutes. By then, UConn’s lead reached 26.

There was just not enough time for the Aztecs to come back. They fought hard, but the Huskies were the much better team on the court tonight.

“This was everything I wanted coming here,” Trammell said postgame when asked about his experience over the last two seasons. “Me and Dutch and the coaching staff talked that the biggest thing was to make runs in March. I feel like we were successful in doing that. Tonight wasn’t what we wanted but I’m blessed to be in this position. Dutch gave me the opportunity to be on this stage and to be successful and that is all I can ask for.”

UConn would go on to win big, 82-52, as SDSU scored just 21 points in the second half.

“I take great joy here tonight (with these guys sitting next to me) that they are 7-2 on college basketball’s biggest stage over the last two years. It’s something we take great pride in.”

News & Stats

• LeDee – 18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals
• Parrish – 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals
• Spencer – 18 points, 3 assists, 3 steals
• Tristen Newton – 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
• Clingan – 8 points, 8 rebounds, 1 block

Chris Spiering

Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris is also an athlete and is huge fan of San Diego sports. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and contributes regularly about the Padres.