Transfer portal helped lift UConn San Diego State into NCAA championship game

HOUSTON — Dan Hurley knew in the wake of a first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament last year that his Connecticut team had to find more perimeter punch to surround his top NBA prospects and match opponents. Similarly, Brian Dutcher quickly went about luring a new point guard to San Diego State. So both teams went shopping in the transfer portal, scanning the names of available talent in search of the skillset and fit that would plug gaps in their rosters in the college equivalent to free agency. And while purists grouse about nomadic players destabilizing programs facing constant roster…