ALBANY, N.Y. — For a half it appeared the UConn men’s basketball team may have psyched itself out of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year.
The Huskies, after fielding question after question about the Hall of Famer in the opposing coach’s box and about the first-round failures of the last two seasons, couldn’t stop Rick Pitino’s Gaels in the first half. UConn came out in the second half on a mission led by its two leading scorers, Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins, and put away Pitino’s squad, 87-63, on Friday.
UConn (26-8) advances to the second round for the first time since 2016 and will meet No. 5 Saint Mary’s on Sunday. The Huskies are now 19-4 in NCAA first-round games all-time.
