UConn knocks off No. 1 Florida and will play for national title

ARLINGTON, Texas — One player gets most of the headlines when it comes to this Connecticut men's basketball team — and usually it's because of his prolific scoring.

But these Huskies have said all along that they're more than just the Shabazz Napier show, and that Napier is more than just a shooter.

On Saturday night, with a trip to the national championship game on the line, Connecticut backed up its words — on both counts. The Huskies relied on their terrific team defense to stifle Florida's perimeter attack and beat the No. 1 overall seed 63-53 in the first national semifinal game. They will be the first No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament title game.

That, despite the Gators jumping out to a 16-4 lead from the opening tip.

"We got in the huddle, and I told the guys, I wrote on the board, 'Even now, faith,' " UConn coach Kevin Ollie said. "You're going to have faith in each other. I knew we were going to get back in the game. They knew we were going to get back in the game. It just was going to have it take one possession at a time."

Slowly, the Huskies did just that. They made a stop on the defensive end. Then DeAndre Daniels drained a three with nine minutes left in the first half, providing a spark of sorts, just as he has done all postseason. From there, UConn's defense completely stifled Florida point guard Scottie Wilbekin and shooting guard Michael Frazier II, who combined for seven points on 3-for-12 shooting.

Much of that credit goes to Connecticut's spectacular backcourt, made up of Napier and Ryan Boatright — a pair that usually (perhaps wrongly) get more attention for their offense than their defense. Boatright in particular was a pest, poking and prodding Wilbekin all night.

"We wanted to really stay on Wilbekin, keep him out of the lane, keep him on (the left) side," Ollie said. "I thought we did a great job of that starting with Ryan. And then it just started with everybody.

"That was our key. We call it the ace of spades. That was the ace of spades in this game and we wanted to take him out."

Not only was Wilbekin struggling when shooting the ball, but he committed three turnovers, too. He and freshman guard Kasey Hill each got their pockets picked at least once.

"That's not usually what we do," Wilbekin said. "All credit goes to them and their guards and the way they were denying and putting pressure on us. We weren't taking care of the ball. When we would get by them, we wouldn't keep the ball tight and they would reach from behind. We were just being too loose with it."

Connecticut freshman reserve guard Terrence Samuel said the key for the Huskies was keeping Wilbekin out of the lane and applying full-court pressure.

"No team brought any pressure to him the whole year — he played comfortably," said Samuel, who chipped in four points, too. "When someone is pressuring you, it makes you more tired. It's harder to make shots when you're tired because your shots are kind of dead.

"We just stuck to the game plan. We didn't leave Frazier on the 3-point line. We were doubling Patric Young in the paint when we could. We just played good team defense. … We've been taking pride in our defense."

"We just stuck to the game plan. We didn't leave Frazier on the three-point line. We were doubling Patric Young in the paint when we could. We just played good team defense. … We've been taking pride in our defense."

Young, Florida's center, was one of the Gators' bright spots, scoring 19 points with many coming in the second half. But Samuel said UConn's game plan regarding the powerful big man was to foul him if the defending wasn't in great position. Young — like Florida on the whole — is not a terrific free throw shooter, so UConn was OK with sending him to the line. (He was 5-for-8 from the line.)

From the field, the Gators shot 19-for-49 (38.8%).

"The difference in the game was our backcourt guys could not get into the lane at the rate that Boatright and Napier could," Florida coach Billy Donovan said.

Napier and Boatright combined for 25 points, nine rebounds and five steals, and Daniels contributed 20 points.​

Now, Napier and Co. will try for Connecticut's second national championship in four seasons. Napier was a freshman on that 2011 title team, watching and learning first-hand from the magical Kemba Walker and legendary coach Jim Calhoun.

All season, as Napier has scored buckets in boatloads, hit game-winning shots and drained clutch free-throws, the comparisons to Walker have come — as has praise form Calhoun.

"He watched Kemba, and he's starting to do what Kemba did and that's play with great joy," Calhoun said Saturday night.

But to Napier, things seem very different. What was Kemba's program is now his. Calhoun is not his coach anymore; Ollie is, in his second season. And there was that postseason ban last year, a situation that made transferring tempting. But those who stayed are being rewarded now.

"I can't compare it," Napier said. "This is a whole different team, different players. We don't have Kemba Walker. Like I always say, I'm trying to do what he did — bring us to the promised land — but I'm doing it a different way."

A couple of weeks ago, Connecticut nearly lost its round-of-64 game to Saint Joseph's. In every game since, the Huskies have been underdogs. They said they're used to the doubters.

But, as is often the case, they'll get to make their case on the court. And knowing this team, it'll probably quiet the skeptics.

"Confidence is above the roof right now," Samuel said. "Everybody's contributing to our scoring. We can't be stopped, especially with our defense playing like that."