When the final buzzer sounded University of Connecticut fifth national title Monday Night Huskies Center Adama Sanogo he grabbed the basketball, looked up, and whooped in celebration. It was the culmination of a dominant career through the NCAA Tournamentcapped off Sanogo’s 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 76-59 win over san diego state at the NRG stadium in houston. The bruised Huskies junior was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four and finished the tournament averaging 19.7 points per game.
Monday’s performance marked his fourth Big Dance double-double, but it came against his toughest test yet. San Diego State’s formidable frontcourt presented a challenge unlike anything Sanogo had seen in the tournament. Early on, Sanogo established himself against the threatening SDSU defense by attacking the Aztecs’ center. nathan mensah without much trouble. Then Sanogo’s layup with 7:12 remaining in the game snapped a 9-0 run at San Diego State and put the Huskies up 58-50 after the momentum had begun to shift in favor of the Huskies. Aztecs.
Sanogo’s prolific career in the NCAA Tournament was made all the more impressive by the fact that he was observing Ramadan for the past two weeks, which means he was unable to eat or drink from dawn to dusk. However, he looked strong as ever during the Final Four, first helping the Huskies through miami on Saturday night and then approaching the last stage of the game on Monday night.
He entered the game as the seventh player since 1950 to average 20 or more points per game on 65% shooting entering an NCAA Tournament entering the title game. He will go down in history with Kemba Walker and Shabazz Napier in UConn lore for his performance in a title-winning season.