Final Four weekend came to a close on Monday as the UConn Huskies beat the San Diego State Aztecs, 76-59 to win the national championship, their fifth in program history. Four of those five have come in the state of Texas including two in Houston this year and 2011.

In the end, the gritty and tenacious run of the Aztecs finally came to an end. Their stingy defense and repeated comebacks were ultimately no match for UConn in the final game of the year. Lots to talk about from a long weekend in Houston.

NASA well represented in the final game.

On Monday, NASA announced its four-person crew for Artemis II and all four were in attendance, honored by the NCAA before the game. Additionally, another astronaut, Tracy Dyson, sang the National Anthem. It was a good night for Space City.

This year's music lineup was legit.

From Megan Thee Stallion and Lil Nas X to Tim McGraw and Keith Urban, this was a quality lineup from the NCAA. Did we mention that TSU's Ocean of Soul band played halftime of the title game?

Houston knows how to throw a party.

No fights. No serious issues. Just fun. And with the games and festivities kept all along the light rail line, traffic was light for most of the city while the mayhem was contained downtown. We can all debate the financial merits of big events like these, but from a pure "look at how good our city is" standpoint, this was a winner.

SDSU's defense got all the press, but UConn was better.

All season, San Diego State has led with their defense. But, as good as they are, UConn was clearly better. The length of the Huskies just killed the Aztec's ability to get off clean shots, especially in the paint. UConn's two-center look was just brutal for SDSU and that was ultimately their undoing.

Small teams can win...but it's tough.

This was a weird year for the Final Four. There had never been a Final Four with no one, two or three seeds. There had never been a title game between four and five seeds. But, the reality is that the better team won. UConn is a powerhouse NCAA basketball program and it showed. Their recruiting classes are strong and they churn out great players. SDSU will probably be helped a lot by this year's showing just as they have by the transfer portal, but even with all the parity, the best teams are still the biggest programs.

Jim Nantz did Houston right.

In his fortieth and last Final Four, Nantz not only handled it with class, he gave it his Houston touch, mentioning the city several times during the broadcast. The veteran broadcaster has always been a huge Houston booster and this was yet another opportunity to give H-Town repeated shout outs on a national stage.