GLENDALE, Ariz. – It ended with no question about the identity of the best team. Some NCAA Tournaments you could say, play it five times and there might be five different winners. Not this one.
It ended with Connecticut on top of the world of men’s college basketball. Way, way at the top. “This was our goal from day 1,” Cam Spencer said Monday night.
But it took 67 moments of decision to get there, some compelling, some surprising, some decisive, some runaways. all of them with a sense of finality for the loser. It was not a tournament laden with great finishes. Of the 67 games, 42 were decided by double figures. The national champions had something to do with that, since the Huskies’ closest call in six victories was 14 points. The Final Four’s tightest ending in three games was 13. That hadn’t happened since 2006. It was a coronation more than drama.
And yet there were unforgettable moments because there always are. The road to Dan Hurley waving the championship net Monday night . . .
FIRST FOUR
Wagner had only seven healthy players the second half of the season and its last live practice had been late December. The Seahawks still found a way, shooting 52.7 percent with three starters going 40 minutes.
Colorado State 67, Virginia 42.
Virginia trailed only 14-12 midway through the first half. Then the Cavaliers missed their next 19 shots and went more than 12 minutes without a point. Yeah, that’d do it. Virginia has not won a tournament game since its 2019 national championship, losing to three double-digit seeds. The Cavaliers’ ugly demise did not exactly validate their at-large bid, as leftouts Seton Hall and Indiana State put on scintillating NIT runs.
Grambling State 88, Montana State 81 OT.
Grambling reserve guard Jimel Cofer had scored only 65 points all season. But his time had come in March. He put in 19 after halftime to help get the Tigers a victory in their first NCAA Tournament appearance.
Boise State wanted so much to do something about that 0-9 all-time record in the tournament. But shooting 34 percent and missing 16 of 18 from beyond the arc wasn’t going to do it.
FIRST ROUND
Armando Bacot had his 86th career double-double by halftime and the Tar Heels rolled in Charlotte to go 35-2 in their home state in NCAA Tournament games.
Arizona 85, Long Beach State 65.
For the NCAA-leading 19th time this…
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