UConn secured their fifth NCAA Division title on the back of double-doubles from Adama Sanogo and Tristen Newton in a 76-59 victory over San Diego State in Texas on Monday.
The Huskies capped their brilliant NCAA tournament with a sixth straight double-digit win, maintaining their perfect 5-0 record in National Championship games. It was also the fourth time UConn has claimed the national crown in Texas.
It ends San Diego State's wonderful campaign having made the National Championship game for the first time in their history.
Newton top scored with 19 points along with 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Sanogo added 17 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan Hawkins contributed 16 points. Malian big man Sanogo won the tournament's Most Outstanding Player award.
The Huskies shot 23-of-53 from the field, along with 24-of-27 from the free-throw line, opening up a 36-24 half-time lead and never looking back.
The Aztecs got within five points at 60-55 with 5:19 left in the second half, but UConn immediately responded with a Hawkins three-pointer.
Keshad Johnson top scored for the Aztecs with 14 points, while Darrion Trammell and Final Four hero Lamont Butler both added 13 points. SDSU shot six-of-23 from three-point range.
Huskies head coach Dan Hurley said: "We knew we were best team in the tournament going in and we just needed to play to our level."
UConn's triumph means they draw level with Duke and Indiana for fourth-most all-time in NCAA history, having lifted the title in 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014 and now 2023.
NBA: Curry takes over down stretch as Warriors spoil Thompson's Bay Area return
Stephen Curry scored 37 points, including Golden State's final 12, to rally the Warriors past Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks 120-117 on Tuesday night in an NBA Cup game.
Thompson finished with 22 points in an emotional return to Chase Center for the first time since he departed to join Dallas in July.
Luka Dončić started and had 31 points, eight rebounds and six assists after the team decided his left groin strain was healthy to play once he went through his warmup routine.
The Warriors gifted captain hats to fans in a tribute to Thompson's tradition of taking his boat across the bay to games. Thompson embraced Curry shortly before tipoff and his 3-pointer gave Dallas a 110-105 lead before his old Splash Brother took over.
Curry shot 14 for 27 with five 3s and added nine assists and six rebounds, also sparking a 20-3 burst to begin the third quarter.
Dereck Lively II, questionable to play because of a sprained right shoulder, contributed 12 points and eight rebounds for Dallas, which committed 18 turnovers, leading to 21 Warriors points.
Golden State got 16 points from Jonathan Kuminga and 14 from Buddy Hield.
Curry fouled Thompson 15 seconds into the game and Thompson scored the initial two points of the contest at the free-throw line. But Thompson missed his initial two field-goal attempts before knocking down a 3-pointer with 1:26 remaining in the opening quarter.
Knicks handle Embiid, struggling 76ers
OG Anunoby scored 24 points and the New York Knicks spoiled 76ers star Joel Embiid's season debut, beating Philadelphia 111-99 in the opener of NBA Cup group play for both teams.
Embiid was rusty in his first action since winning the gold medal at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 10. He finished with 13 points on 2 of 11 from the field with three rebounds in 26 minutes and was unable to lift the struggling Sixers, who fell to 2-8. Paul George led Philadelphia with 29 points and 10 rebounds.
Josh Hart added 14 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists for the Knicks. Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 13 boards, while Jalen Brunson scored 18 points on 5-of-15 shooting.
New York started the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run that broke open a three-point game. Anunoby had three dunks during the run, often taking dead aim at a vacancy caused by Embiid, who was slow to defend the rim.
The Knicks recorded 31 assists on 44 field goals and shot 49% from the floor.
Hawks rally past Celtics
Onyeka Okongwu tipped in a missed shot with 6.1 seconds left, and Jaylen Brown missed a jumper at the buzzer as the Atlanta Hawks overcame a 15-point, second-half deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 117-116 in their NBA Cup opener.
Dyson Daniels scored a career-high 28 points, and Jalen Johnson had 18 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists as Atlanta snapped a two-game losing streak despite playing without star Trae Young.
Brown scored a season-high 37 points and Derrick White added 31 for Boston as it opened the in-season tournament on a green floor with a special parquet design. The defending NBA champions had a two-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the third time this season.
Jayson Tatum's 3-point attempt from the left corner with 24 seconds left and Boston leading 116-115 rimmed out. Daniels missed a floater, but Okongwu tipped it in to give the Hawks their first lead since the final seconds of the first quarter.
The teams traded turnovers on inbounds passes before White found Brown, who pulled up from 13 feet and shot off the rim.
'It didn't feel special' – Gilgeous-Alexander shrugs off 40-point haul
Oklahoma City Thunder talisman Shai Gilgeous-Alexander shrugged off his career-high 45 points as he suggested the showing "didn't feel special".
Gilgeous-Alexander's 14th career 40-point game inspired the Thunder to a 134-126 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.
Yet Gilgeous-Alexander did not want to play up the importance of his haul, as he instead focuses on pushing for a deeper postseason run this time around.
"It didn't feel special," Gilgeous-Alexander said.
"It didn't feel like I did something I'd never done before. Just felt like another basketball game. I felt like I should have had more, missed some easy shots, but [that's] the game.
"I don't say this to slight my teammates, but I feel like the end of our season last year in the playoffs, obviously for a lot of them, it was the first time in the playoffs and playing games that meaningful.
"I don't want to say they weren't ready, but I feel like I could have equipped them better throughout the year in taking [certain] shots, getting to spots and being more comfortable in certain positions on the court, especially offensively.
"I feel like in the playoffs we were good defensively and offensively is why we lost. And part of my job is to make sure that my teammates are confident and are ready for big moments."
Gilgeous-Alexander had to step up against the Clippers, given his star teammate Chet Holmgren faces up to two months out due to a hip injury.
He is the first player in the Thunder's franchise history to record at least 45 points and five steals in a single game, and he explained how he was set on getting Oklahoma City back on track after their defeat to the Dallas Mavericks in last season's playoffs.
"When we lost, I thought about why we lost and obviously there's so many things to nitpick," Gilgeous-Alexander said, with the Thunder having gone 9-2 to start the season.
"But I can only control what I can control, and I try to look at it from through that lens.
"A lot of people don't recognize it until it's too late. And I don't want it to be too late, so I tried to hit it on the head early."
Cavs' Mitchell revels in being 'part of history' after flying start
Donovan Mitchell said "it's great to be part of history" after he propelled the Cleveland Cavaliers to their 12th straight win to start the season.
Cleveland are just the eighth team in NBA history to reel off a 12-0 record from the start of a campaign.
The last team to do so was the 2015-16 Golden State Warriors, who set the NBA record at 24-0.
Mitchell plundered a season-high 36 points in Monday's 119-113 win over the Chicago Bulls, and the omens are good for the Cavs, given five of the previous seven teams to start the season with a 12-0 record went on to reach the NBA Finals.
"It's great to be part of history," said Mitchell.
"I never want to take those things for granted along the road when we're doing it in various ways.
"We're doing it in ways where we are blowing out teams. We're winning from behind. We're winning close games.
"And it's somebody different every night leading the charge. It's always a group effort."
For first-year coach Kenny Atkinson, the level of focus displayed by his team is the most pleasing aspect of their excellent start.
"This group is locked in," he said.
"I do think there's [been] questions about this group, whether they can get to the next level, can they make the next step?
"So, I think when you have that, you have that chip [on your shoulder], you focus even more.
"There's another level of concentration, another level of focus, another level of detail that these guys use to carry us to 12-0 so far."
And Mitchell, who is averaging 22.5 points per game this season, knows the Cavs cannot step off the gas.
"It's great. We're playing well, vibes are good, but we have to continue to be this team," Mitchell added.
"That's been my message to the guys in the locker room.
"We're going to get teams' best shots. We're going to get tested early, but are we going to continue? No doubt we will, [but] are we going to continue to be this team January, February, March, April?
"I think the guys all feel it, but it's great to enjoy these moments too while you're still having a humble approach to it."
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