Connecticut was headed back to the Final Four after this 77-52 thrashing in front of 19,181 at a raucous TD Garden, blitzing yet another overwhelmed opponent.
Connecticut feels inevitable.
A borderline guarantee.
It isn’t just winning.
It is beating teams into submission, breaking their will, treating this NCAA Tournament like a series of scrimmages.
Illinois learned what the rest of the Big East and Stetson, Northwestern and San Diego State already knew: UConn is a different breed of basketball team.
The Big Ten Tournament champion entered the Elite Eight believing it could pull the upset, that it could hang with the third-seeded Huskies.