BOSTON -- The rematch turned into another mismatch for UConn.
Stephon Castle had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the top-seeded Huskies and the defending NCAA champions advanced to the Elite Eight with another double-digit victory, beating San Diego State 82-52 on Thursday night in a rematch of last year's title game.
Cam Spencer scored 18 points and Tristen Newton added 17 points and seven rebounds for the Huskies (34-3), who will play the winner of the other East Region semifinal between No. 2 Iowa State and No. 3 Illinois for a spot in the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona.
A year after cruising to their fifth national championship -- winning their six NCAA Tournament games by an average of almost 20 points -- the Huskies followed up blowouts last weekend with their ninth straight double-digit March Madness victory.
They have won their games in this tournament by 39, 17 and 30 points.
"We suck at winning close games," UConn coach Dan Hurley said. "You've got to go with the alternative."
Backed by a virtual home crowd at TD Garden -- Boston is about 90 miles from UConn's Storrs, Connecticut, campus -- the Huskies made it a double-digit lead early in the second half, 20 with about seven minutes left and 30 in the final minutes, after the teams sent in their benches. Hurley's son Andrew even got into the game with 1:44 left, drawing a celebratory cheer.
"We tried to make it like Storrs North," Castle said. "They showed up for us."
Seven-footer Donovan Clingan, who played just 23 minutes after getting into foul trouble, had eight points and eight rebounds.
Jaedon LeDee scored 15 of his 18 points in the first half for fifth-seeded San Diego State, which followed up the only Final Four appearance in school history with another Sweet 16 run.
But for the second straight year, the Aztecs (26-11) ran into UConn, which is now three victories away from becoming the first team to repeat as NCAA champions since Florida in 2006 and '07.
UConn took its first 10-point lead before the midpoint of a first half in which both teams went cold about 10 minutes in. After opening a 27-16 lead with 11 minutes left, UConn shot 6 for 28 to finish the half -- and still took a nine-point lead into the break.
The Huskies went up by double digits for good in the opening minutes of the second half when Newton -- thanks to an offensive rebound and assist from Clingan -- hit a 3-pointer to make it 45-33. Up 17 with eight minutes left, UConn scored the next nine points to pull away.
UConn won last year's championship game 76-59 and also beat the Aztecs in the 2011 Sweet 16, with Kawhi Leonard's San Diego State team falling to Kemba Walker's Huskies, who went on to win the school's third national championship.
Last year, UConn made it five, pulling away after leading by five points with five minutes left to beat San Diego State 76-59.
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The Huskies reached the Elite Eight for the 13th time. The last time they made it this far and didn't win it all was in 2009, when Jim Calhoun's team lost to Michigan State in the national semifinal.
UConn guard Tristen Newton (2) tries to keep the ball while colliding with San Diego State forward Jaedon LeDee (13) during the first half of the Sweet 16 college basketball game in the men's NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
UConn head coach Dan Hurley argues with an official during the first half of the Sweet 16 college basketball game against San Diego State in the men's NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
San Diego State forward Jaedon LeDee, right, passes the ball to Lamont Butler (5) while pressured by UConn guard Cam Spencer (12) during the second half of the Sweet 16 college basketball game in the men's NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
UConn guard Stephon Castle (5) roars while dunking against San Diego State during the second half of the Sweet 16 college basketball game in the men's NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
UConn players celebrate shortly before defeating San Diego State during the second half of the Sweet 16 college basketball game in the men's NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
UConn center Donovan Clingan, center, slams a dunk against San Diego State during the second half of the Sweet 16 college basketball game in the men's NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)
UConn guard Stephon Castle (5) takes a shot over San Diego State guard Darrion Trammell (12) during the first half of the Sweet 16 college basketball game in the men's NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
San Diego State players sit on the bench while trailing UConn by nearly 30 points late in the second half of the Sweet 16 college basketball game in the men's NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
San Diego State guard Darrion Trammell, right, tries to steal against UConn guard Tristen Newton, left, during the second half of the Sweet 16 college basketball game in the men's NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)