Adama Sanogo, UConn Tabbed as 'Final Four' Good by Twitter in Win vs. St. Mary's

Connecticut advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA men's basketball tournament for the first time since 2014 with a 70-55 win over No. 5 Saint Mary's on Sunday in Albany, New York.

The fourth-seeded Huskies pulled away after leading by just one point, 31-30, at halftime. They caught fire in the second half and turned the game into a rout.

As a team, UConn shot 54 percent from the field and went 10-of-22 from beyond the arc. Many on Twitter thought Dan Hurley's squad has the makeup of a national champion.

Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins were singled out for praise. The former had a game-high 24 points along with eight rebounds. The latter scored 12 points and connected on four of his five three-point attempts.

Sanogo helped carry UConn's offense in the first 20 minutes. Hawkins took over from there with his contributions from the perimeter.

The Gaels had to forge ahead in the second half without the services of third-leading scorer Alex Ducas, who started strong with eight points on 3-of-4 shooting. The senior guard was ruled questionable at halftime because of a back injury and didn't return.

Compounding matters, Mitchell Saxen was forced to go to the bench because of foul trouble, removing another proven scorer from the equation for a critical stretch. Not surprisingly, Saint Mary's steadily lost steam as the half unfolded.

UConn will meet Arkansas in the regional semifinals after the eighth-seeded Razorbacks toppled defending-champion Kansas.

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