BROOKLYN – The top seed UConn men's basketball team (33-3) went wire-to-wire in a 75-58 win over nine-seed Northwestern (22-13) on Sunday in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament at the Barclays Center. Donovan Clingan (Bristol, Conn.) posted a dominant 14-point, 14-rebound double-double with a career-high eight blocks, while Tristen Newton (El Paso, Texas) also doubled up with 20 points and 10 assists.

The Huskies led by as many as 30 in the second half of the rout, opening up a 22-point halftime lead and cruising in the second frame. Cam Spencer (Davidsonville, Md.) was the third Husky in double-figures with 11 points, adding four rebounds and four assists.

With the win the Huskies hve advanced to the Sweet 16 in back-to-back seasons, a first for the program since going to three-straight from 2002-04. The Huskies have also now set a program-record with eight-straight NCAA Tournament wins.

How it Happened

The Huskies opened with a fervor, ripping off a 7-0 run to start the contest. The run extended to an 11-2 burst with a Clingan slam and forced a Northwestern timeout at 15:21 of the opening stanza.

The Huskies continued to apply the pressure in the opening frame, with a Newton lay-in at the 7:26 mark giving Connecticut its largest lead at 24-10. A Spencer 3-pointer combined with a Diarra transition lay-in plus a foul gave the Huskies a 35-14 edge with 2:40 to go in the first frame, and UConn took a 40-18 lead in the half.

UConn held Northwestern to a mere 25.8 percent from the field in the first half, while Clingan finished the opening frame already with a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Castle led the defensive charge on NU leading scorer Boo Buie, who finished the first half 0-of-6 from the floor.

The second half started with more of the same, as an acrobatic three-point play from Newton pushed the lead to its largest of the day at 49-22 three minutes into the second half. The Huskies would go up as many as 30 in the second half, but Northwestern stuck around. An 8-0 run for the Wildcats cut the lead to 66-50 before the final media timeout, but it was too little too late as the Huskies closed out a 17-point win.

Inside The Numbers

• UConn shot 53.7 percent (29-54) from the floor, while holding Northwestern to a 37.3 percent (22-59) mark
• Neither team was impressive from beyond the arc, with Northwestern going 4-15 and UConn connecting on 3-22
• The Huskies held a 33-30 edge in rebounding, led by Clingan's 14 caroms
• UConn out-scored NU 52-26 in the paint and 18-8 on the fast break
• Connecticut recorded 20 assists on 29 field goals

News and Notes

• UConn improves to 67-32 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and advances to its 19^th Sweet 16
• The Huskies will play in back-to-back Sweet 16s for the first time since going to three-straight from 2002-04
• The double-double for Clingan was his fifth of the season and the ninth of his career. It was also the second time in three games he has recorded a first half double-double, also accomplishing the feat in the BIG EAST title game
• Newton's 20-point effort was his eighth of the season
• The double-double for Newton was his 11^th of the season
• Clingan set a new career-high with eight blocks and has recorded multiple blocks in 22 games this season
• The eight blocks for Clingan are the most for a Husky in an NCAA Tournament game, topping a mark of seven set by Emeka Okafor in the First Round of the 2003 Tournament
• Clingan became the third player in NCAA Tournament history to record at least 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks – joining David Robinson (Navy) in 1986 and Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston) in 1983

Up Next

The Huskies will head to Boston for the Sweet 16, facing the winner of San Diego State and Yale on Thursday, March 28 at 7:39 p.m. on TBS.