UConn coach Dan Hurley was thrilled to have come through on his promise of doing "something big" after his team's NCAA title triumph.

The Huskies beat San Diego State 76-59 in Houston on Monday, capping their brilliant tournament with a sixth straight double-digit win, maintaining their perfect 5-0 record in National Championship games.

Of UConn's five titles, four have been won in Texas, while the last one came in 2014.

Hurley took over UConn in 2018, and said this was the vision he had sold to the university and its players.

"Obviously a dream come true for all of us," he told reporters.

"It's part of the programme, we sold the vision – I sold the vision to the university that I could put together a special group of people, a coaching staff, and unbelievable players like this, so it feels great to come through.

"This was our vision, this was our dream, this is what we said when we recruited these guys – to get together and do something big. It's just great to come through on promises made to these players and the university. It was an honour to play against San Diego State, too.

"It was probably the most physical, toughest team we’ve played this year – certainly one of the best. I've just got so much admiration for how they play and their coach, he's one of the best coaches in the country."

Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher was gracious in defeat.

He said: "First of all I congratulate coach Danny Hurley and UConn Huskies. Very deserving. They've played at an elite level the entire tournament.

"We battled, we battled back to five in the second half but gave them too much separation. We weren't at our best. We had to be at our best to win the game. A lot of that has to do with UConn."

Dutcher, though, had few complaints with how his team performed through the championship.

"I'm proud of our guys. These guys have given me everything they've had," he added.

"These guys are what it’s all about – college athletics. Good people, good students and they're really good players.

"We can feel good about the things we did. We're disappointed in the loss, but there's a brotherhood in the locker room that will never be divided by a margin of victory or not winning at all. That brotherhood is going to last a lifetime, I told them that."

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.

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.

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 six points 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.

Lamont Butler scored a buzzer-beating game-winner to send San Diego State into the National Championship Game where they will face Connecticut after edging Florida Atlantic 72-71 on Saturday.

Butler got downhill and hit a 17-foot two-point shot as time expired completing a remarkable 14-point second-half comeback for the Aztecs.

It was the first buzzer-beater during this NCAA tournament and only the fifth in the Final Four history.

Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher opted against calling a timeout when Nathan Mensah rebounded Johnell Davis' missed jumper with the Owls leading 71-70 with 10 seconds left, before Butler drove on and took responsibility with his buzzer-beater for the ages.

"I didn't really know how big it was," Butler said who was mobbed by teammates and coaches. "We're going to the national championship. That's not things many people do."

After trailing 40-33 at half-time, SDSU found its defensive grip to work its way back into the contest, with Matt Bradley scoring 21 points with six rebounds.

Alijah Martin top scored for FAU with 26 points including three triples along with seven rebounds.

The Aztecs will face UConn who accounted for the Miami Hurricanes 72-59 with forward Adama Sanogo outstanding with 21 points including two three-pointers and 10 rebounds.

UConn advanced to their fifth National Championship game, with the Huskies having not lost to a non-conference opponent this year and winning all five NCAA games by double digits.

Huskies guard Jordan Hawkins overcame illness to contribute 13 points, while Miami's Isaiah Wong scored a team-high 15 points on four-of-10 shooting with their offense blunted, going at 32.3 per cent from the field as a team.

The five-seed San Diego State Aztecs are through to their first Final Four in school history after grinding out a low-scoring 57-56 win against the six-seed Creighton Bluejays in Sunday's Elite 8 action.

With their seasons on the line, the two sides combined to shoot a dismal five-of-30 (16.6 per cent) from three-point range, but there were no such struggles for Aztecs junior guard Lamont Butler.

Butler posted a game-high 18 points on eight-of-11 shooting, nailing both of his three-point attempts, while only committing one turnover in his 30 minutes.

Seven-foot-one Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner continued his strong NCAA Tournament with a team-high 17 points (eight-of-17 shooting), six rebounds and two blocks.

It was not without controversy though, as after Bluejays senior transfer Baylor Scheierman tied the game with 32 seconds remaining, San Diego State's Darrion Trammell was fouled on the potential game-winning floater with 1.2 seconds on the clock.

Creighton's players and coaches were apoplectic at the call, which was borderline, and after Trammell missed the first free throw, he drained the second to secure the one-point victory.

They will face this year's most unlikely Final Four participants next, with Florida Atlantic waiting in the wings after having never won a single game in the NCAA Tournament prior to this season.

Meanwhile, the five-seed Miami Hurricanes also booked their ticket to the first Final Four in school history after an 88-81 triumph over two-seed Texas.

The Hurricanes were coming off their first ever Elite 8 appearance in 2022, and they have gone even further this time around thanks in large part to the spectacular showing from senior wing Jordan Miller.

Miller scored a game-high 27 points – his highest total since November 2020 – while shooting a perfect seven-of-seven from the field and 13-of-13 from the free throw line.

All five of Miami's starters scored at least 11 points each, and they did it in old-school fashion, shooting 59 per cent from the field while only attempting eight three-pointers as a team.

The Hurricanes will meet the Connecticut Huskies in the Final Four, who are the only team seeded fourth or lower in NCAA Tournament history to win four games in a row by double-digits.

The unlikely March Madness run from the Florida Atlantic Owls continued on Saturday as they defeated the Kansas State Wildcats 79-76 to punch their ticket to the first Final Four in school history.

It is not just the first Final Four the Owls have ever reached, as they had never won a game in the NCAA Tournament prior to this season, with their only previous appearance being a first-round exit in 2002.

After knocking out eight-seed Memphis, 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson and four-seed Tennessee, Florida Atlantic won the East region and cut down the nets by eliminating the third-seed Wildcats.

The Owls had to deal with another spectacular performance from Kansas State talisman Markquis Nowell as the five-foot-eight point guard put up 30 points (eight-of-21 shooting), 12 assists and five steals.

But while the Wildcats leaned on their star, Florida Atlantic spread it around, with four players scoring at least 13 points, led by Bryan Greenlee's 16 on four-of-seven shooting. Seven-foot-one Russian center Vladislav Goldin controlled the interior with 14 points (six-of-11), 13 rebounds and two blocks.

The win means Florida Atlantic will play the winner between Creighton and San Diego State for a spot in the National Championship game.

It was far smoother sailing on the other side of the bracket as the four-seed Connecticut Huskies pummelled the three-seed Gonzaga Bulldogs 82-54 in a statement-making effort.

UConn's top draft prospect Jordan Hawkins drained six triples for his 20 points and six rebounds, while do-it-all wing Andre Jackson Jr flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 10 assists, nine rebounds and eight points.

It is the first time in NCAA Tournament history a team seeded fourth or lower won four consecutive games by double digits.

With it, Connecticut earned their sixth Final Four trip in program history, and first since 2014. They will meet the winner between five-seed Miami and two-seed Texas for a spot in the final game of the season.

San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher hailed his "fearless" team as they defeated Alabama to book his first trip to the Elite Eight at the NCAA Tournament.

Dutcher is one of six coaches set for an Elite Eight debut this year, the most in a single season since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

None of the other five reached this stage in as spectacular fashion as Dutcher, however, as SDSU upset the number one overall seed 71-64 on Friday.

And Dutcher had a sporting great on his mind as he inspired his players in their unlikely win.

"I just tell the guys: nothing is going to be easy, so just keep playing our brand of basketball, keep doing your best, stay competitive," the coach said.

"And I'm using Muhammad Ali quotes because we're Louisville.

"We talked about confidence, and the key to confidence is being fearless, and I thought we were fearless tonight."

Dutcher does not want this to be the end of SDSU's run, though, adding: "When we recruit, we say our goal is to win a national championship, so we can't act surprised when we have an opportunity to advance to the Final Four.

"It's not just words we use to get them to come here. It's words we believe in."

Despite the disappointment of defeat, Alabama coach Nate Oats attempted to focus on the positives of the past year.

"I'll say it's one of the most memorable seasons ever," he said. "It's not easy to win the regular season, the SEC tournament in the same year and make a Sweet 16 run.

"It's a great group that really loves each other.They're going to be close for life, most of them.

"I love the group, they love each other, and it's just really disappointing that it's ending early.

"But I think it's one of the most memorable seasons in Alabama history, and they can walk out of here with their heads up."

Top overall seed Alabama were ousted from the NCAA tournament Sweet 16 after an upset 71-64 loss to San Diego State on Friday.

The Crimson Tide were well below their best in a sloppy performance with 14 turnovers, shooting three-of-27 from beyond the arc.

SDSU's Darrion Trammell scored 21 points as San Diego progressed to the Elite Eight for the first time.

Trammell led the way offensively for the Aztecs, while Nathan Mensah had eight rebounds and five blocks, while Lamont Butler had three steals, four rebounds and four assists.

For Alabama, top-five NBA Draft prospect  Brandon Miller scored nine points with 11 rebounds but committed six turnovers and shot three-of-19 from the field, including one-of-10 from three-point range.

Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears scored 16 points with 10 rebounds but shot none-of-five from beyond the arc.

"Everybody is really disappointed in the loss," Alabama coach Nate Oats said. "It ended too soon."

Midwest regional top seed Houston were also eliminated in the Sweet 16 on Friday after losing 89-75 to Miami.

Hurricanes guard Nijel Pack led the way with 26 points including seven-of-10 three-pointers as Miami made 11 of their first 22 attempts from beyond the arc.

Miami will take on Midwest second seed Texas in the Elite Eight after the Longhorns won ___ over the Xavier Musketeers, with Tyrese Hunter scoring a team-high __ points with __-of-__ three-pointers.

South regional six seed Creighton defeated Princeton 86-75 to set up a Elite Eight meeting with SDSU, after Ryan Kalkbrenner and Baylor Scheierman scored 22 and 21 points respectively.

Markquis Nowell said the back-and-forth clash between the Kansas State Wildcats and the Michigan State Spartans in Thursday's Sweet 16 round at the NCAA Tournament was "like a Rocky fight."

Nowell starred as the Wildcats won 98-93 in overtime, recording 19 assists to break the tournament record for a single game.

The five-foot-eight guard has 64 points, 42 assists and 11 steals in his three outings so far, with the last division one college basketball or NBA player to reach all of those numbers over any three-game span being Allen Iverson in 2005.

"It was like a 'Rocky' fight," Nowell said about the game, which saw 16 lead changes and neither team ever holding a double-figure lead.

Nowell's 19 assists were complimented by 20 of his own points, joining Chris Paul and James Harden as the only players from either division one college basketball or the NBA in the last 10 years to put up a game of at least 20 points, 15 assists and five steals.

And he attributed his success to his team-mates, with the Wildcats setting up an Elite 8 clash with the Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday.

"We're at our best when we're sharing the ball, passing the ball around the perimeter and different guys is getting into double figures in the scoring category," Nowell said. "I wouldn't have 19 assists if they didn't make any shots."

He produced a stunning alley-oop pass to Keyontae Johnson late in the game, and Johnson heaped praise on Nowell, especially after sustaining an ankle injury during the second half that still did not slow him down.

"He's our starting point guard," he said. "His IQ, his feel for the game, he brings everybody confidence, and when he came back... everybody saw how he was trying to fight through his injury, and we just wanted to fight back for him."

Gonzaga Bulldogs center Drew Timme was a man amongst boys as he carried his side to a comeback 79-76 victory over the two-seed UCLA Bruins in Thursday's Sweet 16 action at the NCAA Tournament.

Timme, a senior, was named a consensus First-Team All-American this year after back-to-back Second-Team selections in his sophomore and junior seasons.

While his career at Gonzaga has been littered with individual honours, the six-foot-10 fringe NBA prospect looked destined to end his run as a Bulldog without capturing their elusive first National Championship as they trailed 46-33 at half-time.

But Timme would not let three-seed Gonzaga go down quietly, putting together a monstrous 36 points on 16-of-24 shooting while adding 13 rebounds, four assists and two blocks to turn their deficit into a 72-62 lead with 2:30 remaining.

UCLA's Jaime Jaquez Jr made things interesting with a quick eight-point burst on his way to a team-high 29 (12-of-25 shooting), 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals, setting up Amari Bailey for a three-pointer to put the Bruins back in front 76-75 with 13 seconds on the clock.

With the game on the line, Julian Strawther drained the clutch three to give Gonzaga the lead and the win, booking their fifth Elite 8 trip from the past eight editions of the tournament.

Gonzaga will face the four-seed Connecticut Huskies next after they wiped the floor with the eight-seed Arkansas Razorbacks 88-65.

It was another strong performance from UConn's top NBA prospect Jordan Hawkins, as the lanky six-foot-five wing dropped a game-high 24 points on six-of-13 shooting with three assists, marking the third tournament game in a row he has drained at least three three-pointers.

The nine-seed Florida Atlantic Owls are through to their first Elite 8 in school history after upsetting the four-seed Tennessee Volunteers 62-55.

The Owls came into the tournament at 31-3, and while there were questions about their strength of schedule, they have continued to prove they are one of college basketball's best teams this year, holding Tennessee to just 33 per cent shooting.

Florida Atlantic will play Kansas State in the next stage after the Wildcats survived a thrilling 98-93 overtime battle against Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans.

Five-foot-eight Wildcats point guard Markquis Nowell played the game of his life, ending up with 20 points (seven-of-18 shooting), 19 assists, five steals and just two turnovers in his 43 minutes. 

He joins Chris Paul and James Harden as the only players from either division one college basketball or the NBA in the past decade to put up a game of at least 20 points, 15 assists and five steals.

Iona did not take long to replace departed Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, turning to the breakout star of the NCAA Tournament.

Tobin Anderson has been rewarded for leading 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson into the second round with one of the biggest upsets in tournament history.

FDU defeated Purdue, who had won the Big Ten regular season title and the Big Ten Tournament, in what Anderson described as "one of the most unbelievable stories of all".

Anderson had garnered attention even before that first-round game, telling the Knights after a play-in win: "The more I watch Purdue, the more I think we can beat them. Let's go shock the world."

He and FDU delivered on that, although their run ended in the second round against Florida Atlantic, losing 78-70.

And that was the end of the road for Anderson at Fairleigh Dickinson as his appointment at Iona was confirmed on Tuesday.

The Gaels moved swiftly to name a new coach after Pitino left for St. John's this week.

"We are very excited to introduce Tobin Anderson as Iona University's men's basketball head coach," said Iona director of athletics Matthew Glovaski.

"We have long known him to be a fantastic coach and an even better person. Now, with his team's impressive run in the NCAA tournament, everyone paying attention to March Madness also knows this.

"We're delighted that he will be at the helm of our men's basketball programme."

Antoine Davis claims there was a concerted effort to block him from breaking 'Pistol' Pete Maravich's NCAA points record after the Detroit Mercy Titans were not invited to the College Basketball Invitational.

The 24-year-old Davis finished his college career with 3,664 points, three behind Maravich's total, which was the precursor for a five-time NBA All-Star career.

Maravich scored his points in 83 games over three years for LSU at an average of 44.2 points, while Davis reached his total in 144 games across five seasons, averaging 25.4 points.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Davis spoke of feeling "upset" and "cheated" out of a possible moment of history.

Detroit Mercy's 14-19 record meant they were counted out of the reckoning for the CBI, despite initial interest from organisers.

Davis responded angrily to Twitter user @801bracketology, who posted: "I'm sorry WHAT? Antoine Davis feels he got 'cheated' out of the scoring record AND that the CBI is selfish for not inviting a 14-19 Detroit Mercy team?? Are you joking??"

In a retort to that comment, Davis suggested there had been pressure put on CBI organisers to exclude Detroit Mercy and deny him an opportunity to go past Maravich.

Davis posted: "I said they cheated me and 5 other seniors from playing post season play cause people like you are sending emails to the CBI telling them not to invite us so he can't break it. You don't know what you're talking about weirdo.

"So you should just shut up cause you don't know what's going on or why I said it."

Rick Giles, president of CBI organiser the Gazelle Group, last week told the Detroit News there had been consideration given to handing the Titans a place.

Talks took place, and Giles said: "After just weighing all the different factors, we just decided that we would move forward with the teams that we had. It was a number of things. It wasn't one single thing.

"It didn't turn on us wanting to facilitate him breaking the record or not, being for or against that. It was just weighing everything out. It was interesting."

Davis, who will hope to make his way in the professional game, also said last week: "My career can't and won't be taken away from me. If people were in my shoes, they would feel the same way. It's weird how people are moving about this."

Mike Davis, Antoine's father and head coach, said earlier this month: "People would have put an asterisk by his name if he would've broken [the record].

"Pistol Pete was in a world of his own, and there will never be another Pistol Pete in college basketball.

"I think there will never be another Antoine, the way he scored in 144 consecutive games."

Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino has been hired by St. John's to revitalise a storied programme that has not won an NCAA Tournament game in more than two decades.

The school announced the hiring on Monday, and the deal is reportedly for six years.

"Coach Pitino is one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the game and has won at the highest levels everywhere he has coached," St. John's athletic director Mike Cragg said in a statement.

"There is no doubt in my mind he will restore a championship-level programme and culture for St. John's Basketball."

Pitino spent the last three years coaching at nearby Iona – leading the mid-major to a pair of NCAA berths – and this will be the 70-year-old's third coaching job in the Big East after stints at Providence and Louisville.

He guided Kentucky (1996) and Louisville (2013) to national titles, has been to seven Final Fours and has coached five schools to the NCAA Tournament, beginning with Boston University in 1983.

Pitino went 64-22 during his three seasons with Iona and takes the St. John's job three days after the 13th-seeded Gaels lost to UConn 87-63 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Now he is tasked with turning around a St. John's programme that has appeared in only three NCAA Tournaments over the last two decades – most recently in 2019 – and has not won a tournament game since 2000.

The Red Storm went 18-15 in 2022-23 and finished eighth in the Big East, leading to the firing of Mike Anderson on March 10.

In 34 seasons as a head coach, Pitino has an unofficial record of 834-293 (.740) – but 123 wins at Louisville have been vacated by the NCAA, including the 2013 national title, for recruiting violations.

Pitino was dismissed at Louisville in 2017 over corruption and allegations of NCAA violations.

Hall of Fame Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo earned his 15th trip to the Sweet 16 after eliminating two-seed Marquette 69-60 in Sunday's second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Spartans rode a 23-point performance from senior point guard Tyson Walker, while Joey Hauser – brother of Boston Celtics wing Sam Hauser – collected 14 points and 10 rebounds.

As well as pulling into a tie for the sixth-most Sweet 16 appearances in head coaching history, Izzo also claimed the record for the most ever NCAA Tournament wins as the lower seed, with this his 16th.

He is one more Sweet 16 trip away from tying Louisville legend Denny Crum for the fifth-most, with only North Carolina's Roy Williams (19), Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (20), Michael Jordan's North Carolina coach Dean Smith (21) and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (26) having more.

The seven-seed Spartans will next face three-seed Kansas State after they won the battle of the Wildcats 75-69 against six-seed Kentucky.

Reigning National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe was monstrous with 25 points and 18 rebounds, while projected first-round draft pick Cason Wallace impressed with 21 points (nine-of-11 shooting), nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.

But their performances were not enough to lift Kentucky to the victory, as diminutive five-foot-eight point guard Markquis Nowell dropped a game-high 27 points and nine assists to carry Kansas State through.

Following his massive 28-point, 13-rebound showing in his side's opening-round win, Connecticut Huskies center Adama Sonogo starred again with 24 points (11-of-16 shooting) and eight rebounds in a 70-55 win over the Saint Mary's Gaels.

After Marquette, the top seed to fall Sunday was the three-seed Baylor Bears. Despite 30 points from Baylor guard L.J. Cryer, the Creighton Bluejays received a game-winning 30 points from Ryan Nembhard in the 85-76 triumph.

Nembhard is the younger brother of Andrew, who has been a rookie standout for the Indiana Pacers this season.

Following their stunning upset of one-seed Purdue, where they became the second 16-seed to ever advance past the first round, the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights were sent packing 78-70 by the nine-seed Florida Atlantic Owls.

Three-seed Xavier were in control throughout their 84-73 win against Pittsburgh, five-seed Miami prevailed 85-69 over four-seed Indiana, and four-seed Gonzaga sent six-seed TCU home 84-81.