Even Larry David Was Impressed As UConn Goes On 30-0 Run In 2nd Half To Destroy Illinois For Final Four Spot

It was a close ballgame for the first half, then UConn decided it had let Illinois hang around long enough, and it was time to clinch its spot in the Final Four. 

Illinois actually held UConn to just 28 points in the first half, as two of the best offensive teams in the country were struggling to get into rhythm. We were all waiting to see if Illinois could be the team that finally took down the Huskies, but that was just a pipe dream for the fans dressed in orange inside the Garden in Boston on Saturday night. 

We knew that UConn was good, but this was going to be the first real test from a team that was consistent in scoring, at least we thought this was the case before tonight. Terrence Shannon was going to be a massive part of this game, until he wasn't, scoring only 2 points at the 11:42 mark of the second half. 

In front of a crowd that included Larry David and Bill Murrary, the Huskies would go on to win 77-52. In his laid back manner, the Seinfeld creator looked as enthusiastic about the game as George Constanza was about having lunch with George Steinbrenner every day during Calzone week at Yankee Stadium.  

In what can only be described as absurd, UConn went on a 30-0 run that started with 1:46 left in the first half, sending the Huskies crowd into a euphoric state of mind. I've seen a lot of basketball, but watching a game just slip away from a team thanks to a run that saw Illinois not score in more than 15 minutes of game action wasn't on my bingo card for this one tonight. 

Asked after the game if he even realized how many points they had scored in a row, UConn coach Dan Hurley said he noticed Illinois burning through timeouts, but the amount of points was a surprise. 

No, you don't. I knew that Brad was burning through timeouts and he did everything he could to stop the momentum, but it was -- we didn't shoot good. I mean, we went 3-for-17 from three," Dan Hurley recalled. "We've obviously got to get that together. But the stops, the transition efficiency. Anytime we were inefficient in transition, these guys playing against the smaller line up, Tristen, all the guards knew that the ball needed to go to Donovan tonight. That's the beauty of the team.

"It was a special level of basketball that we were playing."

BOSTON - Head coach Dan Hurley of the Connecticut Huskies reacts against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first half in the Elite 8 round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at TD Garden on March 30. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

It was Donovan Clingan who was once again dominating around the basket, blocking shots and slamming home the reality that the Huskies were headed back to the Final Four. We have seen UConn dominate teams for most of the season, and Dan Hurley has turned into the ‘bad boy’ of college basketball coaching, but this was a signal to every team left in the tournament that this team is going to be a hard out. 

At the 3:33 mark of the second half, with the game in hand, Dan Hurley almost made it to halfcourt during a timeout to pump-up the crowd as he threw his hands in the air. 

"Yeah. I finally felt safe. You see enough games, man, and it's like I'm always concerned that something bad could happen," Hurley said. "But we've defied the odds this year, just with past champions and losing everything that we lost from last year's team, and having this giant target that we've carried the entire year, the UConn target, plus the defending national champs target. Plus we're a program our players have a lot of confidence and a lot of swagger. Our fan base, again, is obnoxious as s--- on social. So everyone hates us.

"It was a chance to celebrate with them because our fan base and our organization right now, it's an us against the world of college basketball and I wanted to celebrate with them a little bit."

You wanna hang with UConn for an entire game? I'd suggest not going more than three minutes without scoring a basket, or figuring out a way to take advantage of the Huskies starting the game 0-10 from behind the arc. If any of the remaining teams cannot get down in the dumps with UConn around the basket, then we might as well go ahead and award the title to the Huskies right now. 

Illinois was 3-22 from the field in the second half at the 7:20 mark, folding under the pressure of the Huskies defense and rejuvenated mindset. For everything Illinois did in the first half to create hope of potentially pulling off the upset, UConn snatched the life out of those thoughts within the opening minutes of the second half. 

That's how good this Dan Hurley team is. After an ugly first half, all it took was a couple made baskets to get this team back on track, and the Huskies never looked back. 

As we head to Phoenix for the Final Four, the overwhelming favorite to win the national championship is UConn, without even a second thought. The winner of the Clemson-Alabama matchup will have the honor of playing the Huskies in Arizona.

Good luck, the Huskies are on a mission for back-to-back titles, and I have no idea who can stop them.