NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 recap & Elite 8 preview: #1 UConn vs #5 Purdue

No. 1 Connecticut (30-4) 72, No. 5 Purdue (27-10) 60

Key Moment: Connecticut held a tenuous 34-31 lead early in the second half and went on an 8-0 lead to extend it to 42-3l. Hasheem Thabeet, Jeff Adrien and A.J. Price all played a part in the game-deciding run. The Boilermakers could get no closer than five points the rest of the way.

High Point Scorers: Connecticut -- Craig Austrie 17 Purdue -- Robbie Hummel -- 17

Analysis: Despite the off-the-court distraction of the Yahoo.com story about the alleged recruiting violations of a former player, the Huskies did not play like a team unnerved. In the Sweet 16, teams are going to get pushed. Purdue got solid games from Hummel and JaJuan Johnson (13 points), but E'Twaun Moore struggled with only nine points. Thabeet had a double double (15 points, 11 rebounds) for the Huskies who put four in double figures. Plus, they were able to use dribble penetration to get to the line. The Huskies had 30 free throw attempts to the Boilermakers' 11.

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Regional Final: Connecticut vs. Missouri

Saturday/4:40 EDT/CBS

Early Take: History is at work here. Missouri is looking for its first trip to the Final Four in school history. Connecticut won the 1999 and 2004 national titles by coming through Phoenix. This might be the fastest game of the tournament. The Huskies live on a volume of possessions. The Tigers' version of 40 Minutes of Hell will be fun to watch. The key for Missouri is how much of a non-factor it can make Hasbeet to get the shots in the paint that it wants. By drawing him away from the basket, it will open things up. However, Connecticut has such great scoring guards led by Price, that they will make Missouri cover all the passing lanes. Give the No. 1 seed the nod.

Kevin Lonnquist
BigEast-fans.com Staff Writer

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