- UConn entered this tournament as the overall No. 1 seed and wasted no time in establishing its dominance. The Huskies opened the game with an 8-0 run and led 21-4 before a Stetson timeout at the 11:35 mark. UConn increased its first-half lead by as many as 36 points at one mark before finishing the half with a 52-19 lead.

-The Huskies’ 33-point lead was the second-largest NCAA Tournament halftime lead in the last 20 years, falling short only to Gonzaga’s 36-point lead over Fairleigh Dickinson in 2019.

-Donovan Clingan and Cam Spencer led the early scoring for UConn, with Clingan finishing the first half 6-of-7 from the field for 12 points. He finished the game with a team-high 19 points and eight rebounds, adding four assists and a steal.

Spencer had 13 points at the end of the first half, including 3-of-6 from three-point range and finished the game with 15. Triston Newton had 13 points and eight assists while Stephon Castle added 14 points, five rebounds and four assists.

-For as hot as UConn was at the start of the game, Stetson was ice cold. The Hatters began the game 0-for-5 from the field and were 0-for-9 from beyond the arc before hitting their first three-pointer with 3:03 left in the first half to make the score 46-13.

-If you thought UConn played a perfect opening half, head coach Dan Hurley begged to differ. During his halftime interview on CBS, he was critical of the way the team played defense in the final minutes of the first half (Stetson outscored UConn 9-6 in the last three minutes) saying it was not “championship level.”

-Stetson seemed to build off the end of the first half though, opening the second half by making seven straight field goals for a streak of 11, although it still never came within more than 25 points of UConn.

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