Stephon Castle scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for UConn, the defending NCAA champion, as they moved to the Elite Eight with a big victory of 82-52 over San Diego State on Thursday night, in a repeat of last year's title game.
Cam Spencer got 18 points, and Tristen Newton got 17 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies (34-3), who will face the winner of the other East Region semifinal between No. 2 Iowa State and No. 3 Illinois for a spot in the Final Four in Glendale, Ariz.
After winning their fifth national championship last year with an average margin of almost 20 points in six NCAA Tournament games, the Huskies continued their trend of double-digit victories in March Madness.
Supported by a UConn-friendly crowd at TD Garden in Boston, the Huskies established a double-digit lead early in the second half, then extended it to 20 with seven minutes remaining and 30 in the final minutes. The coach's son, Andrew, even played in the game, drawing applause.
Donovan Clingan, a seven-footer, scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds, despite playing only 23 minutes due to foul trouble.
Jaedon LeDee scored 18 points, with 15 in the first half, for San Diego State, the fifth seed, following their only Final Four appearance with another Sweet 16 run.
For the second consecutive year, the Aztecs (26-11) faced UConn, which is now three wins away from becoming the first team to repeat as NCAA champions since Florida in 2006 and '07.
UConn took an early 10-point lead in the first half, and despite a cold streak for both teams about 10 minutes in, they maintained a nine-point lead at halftime.
UConn took a double-digit lead in the opening minutes of the second half and widened the gap, eventually scoring the next nine points to secure a comfortable lead.
UConn won last year's championship game 76-59 and also beat the Aztecs in the 2011 Sweet 16, with San Diego State's team, led by Kawhi Leonard, losing to Kemba Walker's UConn team, who went on to win the school's third national championship.
