Based on its performance in Thursday's Sweet 16 win over Arkansas, you would never know Connecticut's time in Las Vegas leading up to the game has been rough.
Per Mike Anthony of CT Insider, Huskies players had several items stolen from their team bus while they were practicing at the Thomas & Mack Center on Tuesday.
Anthony noted players and athletic director David Benedict filed a police report, but specific details of the report were not made available.
According to Anthony, UConn head coach Dan Hurley said after the win this week was a "disaster" before Thursday's game:
"Then stuff gets stolen. It was a debacle. Obviously when you play at UConn, you have tremendous resources. The way we travel gives us a chance to pursue championships. It wasn't what you expected when you got to Las Vegas for the Sweet 16. We didn't know there would be police reports from day one. We didn't know we'd be moving with our tails between our legs back into the hotel just to get our bags and leave. It was an awkward situation. But now we're in a much better place."
Freshman center Donovan Clingan told Anthony his iPad was stolen out of a backpack he left on the bus and a manager had a laptop stolen.
Clingan did say he was able to track down the location of his iPad using an app on his phone and found it was "like three miles away" from the bus.
Earlier this week, David Borges of CT Insider reported UConn switched hotels after arriving in Las Vegas on Tuesday because the team's original accommodation had "awful" conditions, including rooms with "dirt, vomit...and worse" in them.
Despite the rough start to their week, the Huskies didn't let it impact them on the court. They made easy work of Arkansas with an 88-65 win they led wire to wire.
In his fifth season as head coach, Hurley has Connecticut back among the nation's elite programs. This is its first appearance in the Elite Eight since winning the national championship in 2014.
The Huskies will play Gonzaga on Saturday with a trip to the Final Four on the line. This will be the sixth all-time meeting between the two schools. Connecticut holds a 3-2 edge in the previous five matchups, but Gonzaga won 73-70 in their last game on Nov. 27, 2015.
