The No. 1 overall seed UConn men imposed their will and took complete control over 9-seed Northwestern not five minutes into Sunday’s Round of 32 game in Brooklyn.

The Huskies took a commanding lead over the shorthanded fourth-place finishers in the Big Ten, holding the Wildcats to just 25.8% from the field and 0-for-8 from 3 in the first half. Smiling throughout, the Huskies’ lead grew to as many as 30 points in the second and, despite shooting a lowly 3-for-22 (13.6%) from 3-point range and NU cutting the difference to 16 late, UConn’s streak of double-digit NCAA Tournament wins was never threatened. The Huskies won, 75-58.

“We always have a good time winning,” said All-American point guard Tristen Newton, who laughed as he let the ball roll on an inbound so the Huskies could take the final shot of the first half. “We feel like we demoralized them early.”

In the locker room after the game, coach Dan Hurley addressed the team and its large traveling party: “Just keep blowing these teams out in this tournament too, right?”

UConn has not trailed in either of its two tournament games thus far, beating up on 16-seed Stetson before Sunday’s rout.

“You make yourself bulletproof. You can see the preparation, (Friday) was Kimani Young with the scout, (Sunday) it was Luke Murray. These are head coach quality, some of the best coaches in the country,” Hurley told media after the win. “We are bulletproof. Again, elite offense, elite defense. Didn’t love the offensive rebounding and didn’t love the second half defensive rebounding, but 20 assists, seven turnovers… It’s tough to lose when you have that level of quality.”

That word – “bulletproof” – is one most coaches would shy away from. Especially in a tournament known for its madness, where any team can be upset on any given night.

Dan Hurley is not most coaches. And UConn, after its NCAA-record eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament victory by double figures, suffering nary a scratch along the way, is not like most teams. The Huskies have won 29 of their 30 games against nonconference opponents over the last two seasons, all by double digits.

But… Bulletproof?

It wasn’t a slip of the tongue – Hurley said it twice in each of his four trips to the dais, eight total times through four press conferences in Brooklyn. And he believed it every time.

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