INDIANAPOLIS — A gift, and not one UConn coach Dan Hurley saw coming, became fuel for the Huskies long before the team bus pulled up to Lucas Oil Stadium early Saturday afternoon.
From Hurley’s vantage point, the overall national narrative wrote UConn into the Final Four as the underdog against an Illinois team the Huskies beat by double digits earlier in the year.
“You’re coming into the game as an underdog versus a team that you beat by 13 points earlier in the season, which was kind of surprising, that’s how we kind of came into the game. Obviously I’ve been waiting to say that,” Hurley said 12 minutes into the UConn postgame press conference.
Illinois felt UConn’s intensity almost immediately and the Huskies made a full-court, do-or-die mentality the focus of their preparation. Even though the UConn banners arranged in Storrs celebrate a growing tradition of gold-plated victories, Hurley instead preaches an eat-off-the-floor philosophy. That chip on his shoulder Saturday isn’t going away by Monday night.
“I couldn’t be more proud of my guys and how hard they fought when most people probably didn’t think we were going to win the game,” he said. “Or at least a little bit of what I saw on TV today, you know, TNT and some of the different prognostications.”
UConn is back, and at 34-5 playing for a national title on Monday night. With program royalty on hand, from Ray Allen and Richard Hamilton to Khalid El-Amin and Charlie Villanueva, UConn reacted Saturday night like the more experienced team. When things went their way and when they didn’t, the Huskies had an answer.
“We’re a group of fighters. It’s not appealing to everyone,” Hurley said. “I’m sure there’s some people in here that it’s off-putting for. But we are a group of fighters. We are incredibly tough. We’ve got incredible will. We go into these games, we’re ready for battle. Again, for us it’s not a game that we’re just kind of running around in uniforms throwing the ball around, hoping it goes in. That’s not what we’re doing out there. We’re fighting. It’s a life-and-death struggle for us to get to Monday night for the opportunity to win a championship, and then just to be able to prolong this season with each other and to make the people of Connecticut proud, to make the university proud and all the former great players.”
It was the 18th win for UConn when it held the opponent under 40 percent shooting. The Huskies guarded second-team All-American Keaton Wagler, who led Illinois with 20 points, all over the court. They doubled and swarmed, leaned into the wiry Wagler and dared someone else to carry Illinois to its second-ever championship game.
UConn designed a game plan to make Wagler work and stray from the secondary marksmen that helped Illinois average over 83 points per game this season. Illinois made 6 of 26 3-point tries and shot 33.9% in the game.
With UConn’s defense dominating, its offense did enough. Solo Ball, Braylon Mullins and Jayden Ross all made multiple 3s and UConn was 15 of 17 from the line.
Illinois trailed by double digits most of the second half until foul trouble — UConn’s 10th foul put the Illini in the double bonus with nine minutes left — helped the Illini score with the clock stopped to close the gap.
“Even when they had that run, we told ourselves we were fine,” UConn’s Silas Demery said.
Illinois (28-9) coach Brad Underwood said the Illini are heading back west for a short 90-minute ride down I-74 with a painful reminder about the slim margin between winning and losing. It has been a constant talking point this season.
“It’s why I have so much respect for Alex Karaban,” Underwood said of UConn’s senior forward. “He’s been to three of them. It’s freaky.”
In the last three meetings with UConn, Illinois has been held to its lowest scoring output of that season. That includes a loss in November of this season and a blowout in the 2023 Elite Eight. Maybe, Underwood joked Saturday night, it’s “the uniforms.”
“When they beat us in the Elite Eight, I told our coaches, that was a bad feeling. This is even worse,” Underwood said. “It hurts. My gut hurts so bad right now. I feel sad. I’m sad, if you want to know the truth. Seasons coming to an end hurts.”
Tarris Reed Jr. had 17 points to lead UConn, Mullins had 15 and Ball 13.
Hurley felt the offense had a chance to turn the game into a blowout because of the quality of looks UConn was getting. Illinois had the same reaction postgame, pointing to holding UConn to 35 percent shooting.
Even things that didn’t go their way broke right for the Huskies. After not scoring in the second half, Mullins wound up with the ball after Karaban missed a 3. He calmly connected with 52 seconds on the clock and UConn booked a couple more nights at the Marriott in Indy along with the most meaningful bus ride in the sport from Hurley’s experienced perspective.
“There’s no better feeling than being on that bus on Monday night, just being one of the last two teams standing, that bus ride to the stadium,” Hurley said. “It’s just a cool experience.”
