UConn plays perfect game to record largest win in Final Four history

As UConn took on UCLA in the Final Four on Friday, there were plenty of reminders about the program’s dominant past.

Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi — member of the 2001-02 team that featured three hall of famers and four Olympic gold medalists — hosted an alternate broadcast from the top of Amalie Arena. Breanna Stewart — who won four national championships and lost a single game over her last three seasons — watched from the stands. A banner that listed the Huskies’ 11 national championships — three more than the next closest team — hung from the rafters.

Down on the court, UConn’s current team added to that legacy with an 85-51 dismantling of the top-seeded Bruins.

The Huskies became the first team ever to beat a 1-seed by 30+ points and recorded the largest Final Four victory in NCAA history, breaking their own mark of 33 set in the 2013 title game vs. Louisville. UConn is now responsible for 11 victories of 20+ points in the Final Four — as many as the rest of the country combined.

“They handed it to us,” UCLA coach Cori Close said. “We got exposed. We got out-toughed. We got our butts beat today.”

It was a perfect performance from the Huskies.

“I don't think we made a mistake the entire evening,” Geno Auriemma said.

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