UConn advanced to the Sweet 16 in a landslide on Monday, beating No. 9 seed Syracuse 98-45 in the second round.
UConn’s defense held Syracuse down from the start. The Huskies held the Orange up by eight points in the first quarter and led 33-8. Syracuse then barely scored in the second quarter.
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The Orange scored their eighth point of the game with 3:18 left in the first quarter. They didn’t score again for more than 10 minutes, cutting UConn’s lead to 53-10 with 2:52 left in the half. They only scored 4 points in the second quarter.
UConn loses to Syracuse by 31 points
UConn scored 31 straight points in the game and took a 65-12 lead into halftime. It was the first time a game of 30 or more points was scored in the NCAA tournament since ESPN began tracking such data seven years ago.
All-American Azzi Fudd hit 6 of 9 3-pointers in the first half and scored 26 points before halftime, more than double Syracuse’s first-half score. In his final collegiate game at UConn’s Gampel Pavilion, it marked a career-high halftime for Forde.
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Azzi Fudd has career night in home finale
She tied career highs in points and three-pointers in the home final. She did not play in the fourth quarter.
Ford scored 34 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. She made 13 of 18 shots from the field and 8 of 11 three-pointers.
UConn led by 53 points at halftime, tying the all-time NCAA tournament scoring differential of 89 points set by Baylor in 2017 in a 119-30 victory over Texas Southern. But Syracuse found signs of life after halftime, with Geno Auriemma stretching the starting lineup for much of the fourth quarter to cancel the win.
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In the end, it failed to make the top ten of the list with a 53-point advantage. But it’s still compelling in the second round against other power conference programs.
Can anyone beat UConn?
UConn’s display of dominance justified its status as a tournament favorite, with No. 1 seeds UCLA, South Carolina and Texas the only teams expected to mount legitimate challenges to the Huskies, who currently have a 36-0 record. Even before the potential matchup in the Final Four, that was controversial.