UConn Holds Off Arizona to Head to the Final 4

UConn has just made its season even more spectacular after beating Arizona 65-63 to advance to their 4th Final 4 in school history, all of which under current head coach, Jim Calhoun. This is also their 2nd Final 4 appearance in 3 years after losing to Michigan State in 2009 in the national semi-finals and missing the NCAA Tournament last year.

The Huskies were able to win their 2nd consecutive road game in Anaheim since the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona is a lot closer than Storrs, CT. That crowd noise and the play of Derrick Williams provided a great challenge for UConn, but in the end they and their stellar defense prevailed.

Kemba Walker was very limited in this game because of Arizona's strong defense and was forced to become a jump shooter instead of weaving around players and driving to the basket for a layup. While he only had 20 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 1 steal, his leadership is one thing you can't stop no matter what. He elevates the play of his teammates exponentially, which is part of why they were playing to get into the Final 4 in the first place. That and Walker's stellar defense is the reason why he truly deserves to be player of the year. Freshman, Jeremy Lamb is continuing to play as he has all tournament. Saturday night he had 19 points with 3 critical baskets during the last 6 minutes of the game to keep UConn ahead. Sophomore, Alex Oriakhi had 7 points and 6 rebounds, which provided good play in the paint for the Huskies to help relieve the team from having to take only jump shots. Shabazz Napier also had a great game. He scored 10 points and had 1 steal that led to a breakaway basket to force Arizona to call a time out and spurred a run from UConn to lead 32-25 at the half.

The game was a nail-biter as Arizona got the last shots of the game which could have tied or win the game. They were down 65-63 coming out of a time out with 18 seconds left, but instead of going for the tie, the Wildcats played to win, but missed three pointers by Derrick Williams and Jamelle Horn at the end of regulation saved the Huskies from going home.

Arizona outrebounded Connecticut 39-28 and had a much more dominant presence in the paint, but still was unable to best UConn. That's partially because they committed 4 more turnovers than the Huskies and their star, Derrick Williams was forced to sit on the bench a good portion of the first half because he racked up 3 personal fouls, plus Arizona doesn't have Kemba Walker.

The Huskies will be traveling to Houston, Texas to play in the Final 4 against either UNC or Kentucky. Their opponent will be decided when those 2 teams play on Sunday night. Then on Saturday, April 2nd it will be decided who gets to play for the national championship.

This win marks UConn's 9th win in a row and their 12th win in tournament play this season. They are merely 2 games away from finishing their quest of shocking the world and are guaranteed to be well rested for their next game. Kemba and the rest of the team have been persistent that they are not tired, which can no longer be disputed after a tournament run like this.