UConn students flip cars and break doors with lampposts in title celebrations

04 April 2023 , 14:15

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Fans scaled lampposts on campus before taking them down and using one as a battering ram (Image: Twitter)

Students and fans from the University of Connecticut embarked in wild celebrations and brought chaos to the school’s campus after the Huskies won the men’s National Championship in Houston on Monday night.

UConn asserted their dominance over the college basketball world as they secured a crushing 76-59 win over San Diego State. It was the Huskies’ first men’s NCAA championship win since 2014.

While the Aztecs started off strong, the Huskies held firm and were able to fairly comfortably secure the win. Tristen Newton starred with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins added 17 and 16 points respectively.

After the game ended, the Storrs campus erupted into sheer madness. In videos and photos circulating on social media, fans and students clambered up lampposts before tearing them down and using them as battering rams to smash through the doors of a campus building, believed to be student union building.

Fans reportedly flipped cars, broke windows and scaled buildings after many students had been watching the game on campus at Gampel Pavilion before swarming the streets. Outside of lampposts, a small active fire on campus had erupted before fire trucks arrived.

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Ultimately, the win created a frenzy on campus. NBC Connecticut reported at least one person detained on campus, with lines of police officers forced to disperse students.

A fire appeared to break out on campus as UConn students and fans enjoyed wild celebrations (Twitter)

The Huskies dominated the men’s NCAA bracket with ease, winning each game by double digits. While critics may point to the fact that UConn didn’t have to face a number three seed or higher in this year’s tournament, coach Dan Hurley and his team find themselves back on top of college basketball after losing in the first round for two successive seasons.

UConn never trailed in the second half of their last four games and were ahead by at least 18 buckets in all tournament games. The champions won each tournament game by double figures, immortalising themselves among few top teams to have accomplished the feat, with Villanova the last team to pull off the feat in 2018.

It’s the fifth time since 1999 that the Huskies have hoisted the trophy at the end of the college basketball grind. Only UCLA (11), Kentucky (8) and North Carolina (6) can say they have more titles in the last 24 years.

Andrew Gamble