UConn primed to win another title in Texas

Connecticut forward Alex Karaban was refreshed and ready to play basketball for another couple of hours late Saturday night, perhaps the biggest insult to a Miami team that put up little fight against the Huskies in the second game of the Final Four semifinals in NRG Stadium.

“It’s insane, I mean that’s everyone’s dream,” Karaban said of UConn facing San Diego State at 8 p.m. Monday in the national title game in NRG. “Now that it’s actually here, I can’t believe it right now, and I just want to play already – just play in the national championship.

“I’m ready to go right now.”

Across the Huskies’ joyful, upbeat locker room, UConn guard Nahiem Alleyne clutched a picture of the national championship trophy that has resided on an easel in the locker room.

“Just two more games – actually one more game now,” Alleyne said following UConn’s 72-59 win over Miami that didn’t seem that close.

Alleyne then pointed to the picture of the trophy and added, “This right here is going to be a great feeling once we hoist it up … we’re in the national championship game. It’s an unreal feeling. We’re going to celebrate for a couple of minutes and now we’ve got to lock in. Because this is the ‘real’ game.”

UConn (30-8) has won four national titles, with three of the championships won in (and spread around) the Lone Star State this century. They won titles in San Antonio in 2004, in NRG Stadium in 2011 and in Arlington in 2014. The Hurricanes (29-8) failed to advance in their first Final Four after beating Houston in the Sweet 16 and Texas in the Elite Eight.

“We’re going to remember this, and (have) that drive for next year,” Miami forward AJ Casey said.

UConn, the favorite to win the Final Four once the final four teams were determined, simply moves on to its next game in a quest for a fifth title, and first under coach Dan Hurley.

“We’re going to enjoy this for a couple of hours, but we know the ultimate goal is right there … we’re gonna get ready for that championship game on Monday,” Karaban said. “Our chemistry is through the roof right now and our confidence as a team is through the roof right now.”

Alleyne said the Huskies didn’t even see SDSU’s buzzer-beater to defeat Florida Atlantic in one of the more thrilling finishes to a Final Four game, in the early contest and as the Huskies milled about in and around the locker room.

“We couldn’t even watch it … there were no TVs on,” Alleyne said. “We just (kind of) saw it on (our) phones.”

Huskies guard Tristen Newton of El Paso said although UConn won by 13 and was never really threatened by the Hurricanes in the second half, the nation still did not see the Huskies at their best. He’s hoping that happens on Monday against the Aztecs.

“I don’t thing we played a good game (Saturday), we turned the ball over a lot and had a lot of different mistakes, and still came out with the win,” Newton said.

Newton added that he didn’t really care if he couldn’t watch the thrilling ending of FAU-SDSU prior to the Huskies’ tipoff against Miami.

“I didn’t know what was going on, and I was really just focused on Miami,” he said. “Because if we had focused too much on (the early game) and then we didn’t win, we wouldn’t even have played who just won. So I wasn’t frustrated – I was just ready to get out and play.”