UConn to play Alabama in Final Four as Crimson Tide edges Clemson - but Dan Hurley's team are in blistering form with 30-point surge taking them past Illinois in March Madness Elite Eight

Top-seeded UConn wasn't going to let Terrence Shannon Jr. spoil its chances of becoming the first team in 17 years to win back-to-back national championships.

Shannon had scored at least 25 points in each of his previous seven games, but the Huskies held him to just eight on Saturday while also opening the second half on a 25-0 run to coast to a 77-52 victory over third-seeded Illinois in the Elite Eight.

Shannon struggled all night against UConn (35-3), making just 2 of 12 shots from the floor in 36 minutes of action. While slowing down Shannon was a team effort, Huskies coach Dan Hurley gave a lot of credit to Stephon Castle, a freshman tasked with guarding a fifth-year senior.

'Steph just made it really, really tough on (Shannon). He chased him off the line. We did a great job in transition,' Hurley said. 'Whenever he did get the edge, we had rim protection there. You had Donovan (Clingan) there, you had Samson (Johnson) there.

'But Steph, there's a reason why, in the basketball world, people are as high on Steph as they are. He's a winning player.'

UConn and Donovan Clingan sealed a brilliant 77-52 victory over third-seeded Illinois 

They will meet Alabama in the Final Four beat Clemson 89-82 on Saturday night

UConn's defensive prowess was on full display after the Fighting Illini's Marcus Domask tied things at 23-all with 1:49 left in the first half.

The Huskies scored the final five points of the half to take a 28-23 lead into the break, then essentially punched their ticket to the Final Four in the first seven minutes of the second half.

Clingan opened the outburst with a short jumper, and he later put together a sequence in which he blocked Quincy Guerrier, snagged the rebound and threw home a dunk on the other end.

That led to an Illinois timeout, but it ended up having no effect on the Huskies, who went on to expand their lead to 30 at 53-23 when Hassan Diarra punctuated the back-breaking run with a layup at the 13:16 mark of the half.

Justin Harmon scored down low with 12:41 to go for the Fighting Illini's first points following intermission.

'Our defense is elite, our offense is elite, we rebound the ball. These guys play every possession like it's the end of the world,' Hurley said of his group. 'We've got NBA-level players that are just willing to share.'

Clingan finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and three steals for UConn, which is headed to its seventh Final Four in program history. Cam Spencer also recorded a double-double with 11 points and 12 boards, and Diarra supplied 11 points.

The Huskies are now two wins away from becoming the first team to win back-to-back national championships since Florida did so in 2006-07.

Alabama will meet UConn in their first ever final four appearance next Saturday.

Mark Sears made seven 3-pointers and Alabama recovered from its early long-distance shooting woes with 16 3s to beat Clemson 89-82 on Saturday night, sending the Crimson Tide to the Final Four for the first time.

Sears' 3-pointers were one off his career high. He finished with 23 points and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament's West Region. Freshman Jarin Stevenson airballed a 3 in the first half, when Alabama missed 12 of its first 13 from long range. He made a career-high five 3s and had 19 points off the bench.

'These guys have been unbelievable,' Alabama coach Nate Oats told the crowd. 'We've had a different guy step up every game. Roll Tide!'