Colorado vs. Connecticut: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2016

UConn relied on excellent defense this season to reach the NCAA tournament. The No. 9 Huskies needed it to advance to the second round as well, stifling No. 8 Colorado in the second half on their way to a 74-67 win in first-round action in the South Regional in Des Moines, Iowa.

UConn outscored Colorado 47-31 in a dominant second half and held off a furious rally by the Buffaloes in the closing minutes, led by Rodney Purvis (19 points, five rebounds two steals)—who heated up in the second half after registering just four first-half points—and Daniel Hamilton (17 points, 10 rebounds).  

Colorado's struggles from the free-throw line certainly didn't help, as the Buffaloes finished 19-of-30 from the charity stripe. UConn's proficiency at the line played a huge factor, especially down the stretch, as the Huskies missed just one free-throw attempt in 23 tries.

Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports summed up UConn's hot-and-cold performance:   

Josh Scott (23 points, 11 rebounds) led the way for Colorado.

The two teams were even for much of the first half, trading buckets, but Colorado's offense heated up down the stretch, as the Buffaloes went on a 20-11 run in the final seven minutes, 33 seconds of the first half to take a 36-27 lead into the locker room.

Scott was excellent in the opening frame for Colorado, scoring 13 points and adding four rebounds. Scott's ability to get to the charity stripe—he was 7-of-11 on his free-throw shots in the first half—was a major factor.

Seth Davis of CBS Sports wasn't surprised to see Scott playing well:

It was a bit more surprising to see Colorado having success offensively against UConn. The Huskies gave up just 63.2 points per game this season (15th in the nation) and were ranked 16th in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com.

UConn's defense changed the game in the second half, however.

Trailing 42-33 at the 16:20 mark, the Huskies went on a 7-0 run, keyed by steals on consecutive possessions by Rodney Purvis and Jalen Adams. Purvis finished his swipe with an emphatic dunk, while Daniel Hamilton made a tough layup after Adams' steal and was fouled, converting the free throw. 

Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post attributed the increased defensive pressure to a change in strategy from UConn:

UConn's comeback was complete at the 11:39 mark, as a Sterling Gibbs three-pointer gave the Huskies their first lead of the game, 47-46. A Hamilton steal and dunk at the other end on the next possession extended the lead to 49-46.

The Huskies promptly went on an 8-2 run after Hamilton's dunk, highlighted by two Purvis three-pointers, to take a 57-48 lead.

From there, the Huskies extended their lead to 66-53 with 3:05 remaining, though a late Colorado push cut the deficit to 66-63 with a minute remaining. Mike Greenberg of ESPN felt a few questionable calls went Colorado's way, however:

A crazy sequence on the ensuing inbound nearly cost the Huskies another position, as Josh Fortune stole the ball only to have it promptly stolen back by UConn's Sterling Gibbs, who was fouled. He made both of his free throws, though a Wesley Gordon layup on the other end with 31 seconds remaining kept Colorado's deficit at three.

But the Huskies made their free throws down the stretch were able to hold on for the win.

Things will only get more difficult for UConn in the second round, however, as they await the winner of No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 16 Austin Peay, which will almost assuredly mean a date with the Jayhawks. UConn under Kevin Ollie is certainly dangerous in the tournament, as the head coach is now 7-0 in March Madness after leading the Huskies to a national championship as a No. 7 seed in 2014.

That team also played excellent defense and shot well from the charity stripe. It had Shabazz Napier too, however, who was unstoppable that postseason. Getting past Kansas will a tough task for the Huskies, who will need to play a complete game and not just one very good half if they are to advance to the Sweet 16. 

Postgame Reaction

Kevin Cox/Getty Images

Ollie didn't mince words when talking about his team's slow start.

"I don't know if they got their wake-up call," he said, per Dom Amore of the Hartford Courant. "The first half, I thought they were still back at the hotel. I think the bus came to pick them up and they started playing in the second half."

Purvis noted that the team's renewed energy on the defensive end made the difference.

"Any time we're not playing defense, it shows," he said, per Amore. "And once we start playing defense, it has a huge impact on our offense. Once we're able to get stops and get out in the transitions, I feel like we're one of the best teams in America."

Colorado head coach Tad Boyle acknowledged that his team simply didn't handle UConn's press defense .

"We knew the pressure was coming. How do you handle pressure?" he asked, per to Nick Kosmider of the Denver Post. "You have to attack pressure, and we didn't. We wilted. We turned it over."

Giving up a lead was a familiar refrain for the Buffaloes, however.

"It's basically the story of our season," senior Xavier Talton said of the blown lead, per Kosmider. "It happened to us multiple times this season. And it happened, unfortunately, in this game."

Of course, finding a way to win a game with defense and free-throw shooting has become the story of UConn's postseason success under Ollie.

Check out Bleacher Report's live updating bracket to track your picks along the road to the Final Four. 

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