After the game, Donovan Clingan, UConn’s center, stood tall amidst the celebration when he heard a song playing in the arena.
While holding the East regional championship trophy, Clingan sang a part of Drake’s verse in Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” to his teammates.
Clingan confidently sang, “I tried to show ‘em” as he celebrated his outstanding performance.
Clingan and UConn both demonstrated their prowess with a dominant 77-52 victory over Illinois, securing their spot in the Final Four.
The 7-foot-2 center, Donovan Clingan, was named the region’s Most Outstanding Player after an impressive showing with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks against the Fighting Illini.
Clingan, a native of Bristol, Conn., expressed his joy at being able to fulfill his dream of playing for the University of Connecticut and contributing to its rich history.
Clingan emphasized the value of cherishing every moment and giving one’s all, expressing his gratitude for the opportunity.
There was a belief that Illinois could pose a challenge for UConn, but the Huskies proved their doubters wrong with an exceptional performance.
The doubts about UConn were proven wrong.
UConn coach Dan Hurley received a tweet from former Illinois guard Sean Harrington, which he saw as a slight against his team and used it as motivation.
Hurley viewed the tweet as another attempt to undermine his team, further fueling their determination to succeed.
Hurley considered such statements as absurd and used them to motivate his team.
UConn welcomed the external motivation.
The predictions about Illinois' star player were proven wrong, as UConn's defense effectively shut him down.
UConn executed a comprehensive victory, as described by Hurley, breaking down Illinois with precision.
The Illini were defeated in a very convincing way. The game was tied at 23-all late in the first half before UConn scored five straight points before halftime. When the teams returned, the Huskies completely dominated the Illini with an almost unbelievable 30-0 run. Clingan and his teammates bullied them, getting stop after stop and scoring on numerous transitions.
The Illini were embarrassed. When Justin Harmon scored Illinois’ first points of the second half with 12:41 to go, it earned a loud Bronx cheer from UConn fans, who filled up at least 70 percent of the building.
Hurley didn’t even take notice of how lopsided the game got, just that Illinois coach Brad Underwood kept using his timeouts. It got so out of hand that comedian Larry David, sitting a row back near the UConn bench, left early.
“It was a special level of basketball that we were playing,” Hurley said.
“Our defense is elite. Our offense is elite. We rebound the ball. These guys play every possession like it’s the end of the world.”
And they kept pouring it on. During one of the timeouts – as the Huskies held an enormous lead – Clingan said that Hurley told them, “Remember what these guys were saying yesterday? We’ve got to go put them away.”
“We just motivate each other, playing for one another.”
UConn buried Illinois into submission. Somehow, Hurley didn’t feel safe until the media timeout with 3:33 to go, when they were up 29. He walked across the court and let out a big scream to fire up one of the UConn fan sections.
“You see enough games, man, and it’s like I’m always concerned that something bad could happen,” Hurley said. “But we’ve defied the odds this year, just with past champions and losing everything that we lost from last year’s team, and having this giant target that we’ve carried the entire year, the UConn target, plus the defending national champs target.
“We’re a program our players have a lot of confidence and a lot of swagger. Our fan base, again, is obnoxious as (expletive) on social. So everyone hates us.
“It was a chance to celebrate with them because our fan base and our organization right now, it’s an us against the world of college basketball and I wanted to celebrate with them a little bit.”
The celebration continued into that huddle, where the Huskies could taste their dream becoming reality.
“It feels a little surreal,” said Cam Spencer, who transferred to UConn this season with this goal in mind.
UConn was not perfect on Saturday. The Huskies were 3-for-17 from 3-point range, an area Hurley said – humorously, given the context – that they need to clean up. Castle scored just two points, and All-American guard Tristen Newton went 0-for-6 from the field.
The concerning part is that it didn’t matter at all. UConn is dominating opponents by 27.8 points per game in this tournament. Now this unstoppable team heads to Phoenix, two wins away from being remembered as possibly the most dominant team in the history of the sport.
“We’re going to be tough to beat,” Hurley said.
