BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — The cheers started early. So early, in fact, that the preceding NC State–Notre Dame game at Total Mortgage Arena still had more three minutes to play in the third quarter when an overwhelmingly pro-UConn crowd first laid eyes on the Huskies and let out a roaring ovation. At that point, UConn’s players, still clad in their black sweatsuits, walked out of an arena tunnel and found seats behind one of the baselines. For a few minutes, they sat and watched as mere spectators of a tightly-contested affair.
Less than an hour later, having subsequently changed into their home-white uniforms, those same players took the floor for a Sweet 16 contest set less than 80 miles from Gampel Pavilion. You can guess what kind of reception No. 2 UConn received when its contest with No. 3 Indiana finally tipped.
While the Huskies took only a four-point lead into the halftime locker room, UConn blitzed IU to open the second half, much to the delight of the vast majority of those in attendance. Propelled by its 16–0 run coming out of the break, UConn won 75–58 and advanced to its 16th consecutive Elite Eight.
