It was billed as a big-man battle between Purdue’s Zach Edey against UConn’s Donovan Clingan. That didn’t give the Huskies guards enough credit.
UConn won a second straight title on Monday night through a relentless attack from its backcourt in a 75-60 win over Purdue.
Tristen Newton, Stephon Castle and Cam Spencer were just too much for the Boilermakers, pulling up from range and weaving through the Purdue defense at will as the Huskies pulled away from their second title in as many years. Newton led the team with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Castle had 15 points and five rebounds. Spencer finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Edey was his usual dominant self on the low block and definitely got the better of Clingan in their matchup, but he didn’t have much help from his teammates. The two-time Naismith Player of the Year finished with 37 points and 10 rebounds in the loss as Purdue fell just short in its redemption tour a year after falling to a 16-seed in the first round of the tournament.
It’s the first time a team has won back-to-back titles since Florida did it in the 2006-07 seasons.
Read the full game story from Nick Bromberg right here.
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Zach Edey still put up a great statline in his last game before heading to the NBA.
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The Big Ten drought continues.
That’s 23 straight Big Ten men’s basketball tourneys without a champion from the Big Ten.
— Mike Hlas (@Hlas) April 9, 2024
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“What an amazing run. It is a UConn coronation!”
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UConn’s dominance the last two years is ridiculous.
UConn states a case for one of the best two-year runs in NCAA history, beating Purdue 75-60
*Average margin of victory in the 2024 NCAA tournament is 23.3 points over six games.
*UConn’s average margin of victory in the 2023 NCAA tournament was 20 points over the six games.— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 9, 2024
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The first back-to-back winners since 2006-07.
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Final: UConn 75, Purdue 60
That’ll do it. UConn goes back-to-back and picks up its sixth national championship.
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Dan Hurley just barely avoided what easily would have been the funniest ejection in basketball history. UConn is less than 3 minutes from a championship, and he just pushed his own player on the court.
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UConn is just minutes away from winning back-to-back titles, something we haven’t seen since 2006 and 2007.
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Samson Johnson just fouled out for UConn. Donovan Clingan has 4 now, too. Purdue, though, is likely out of time to take advantage of the foul trouble.
UConn leads 63-46 with 5:38 to go.
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This is the battle we came to see.
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I think we may be done here. Alex Karaban just hit a corner 3, and then Hassan Diarra just drilled a fast break layup.
The Huskies are up 56-40 now with 9:27 to go.
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I have no idea how Tristen Newton got this to go, but he pulled it off. UConn is rolling now.
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Zach Edey hasn’t scored in more than 10 minutes now, and UConn is up by double digits with 15 minutes to go
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OH MY.
What a dunk from Camden Heide to get us going in the second half.
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The second half is underway in Arizona
Dan Hurley came running out for the second half with the collar of his suit coat up, someone had to yell at him to turn it down. He was cutting it close to tipoff.
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) April 9, 2024
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GLENDALE, Ariz. — The story of the first half is UConn’s defensive strategy.
Hell bent on not losing to Zach Edey’s supporting cast, the Huskies are defending the Purdue giant 1-on-1 and erasing Purdue’s 3-point shooters.
The approach so far has been effective. Edey has 16 first-half points, but Purdue didn’t attempt its third 3-pointer until a full-court heave at the halftime buzzer.
36-30 UConn at the half …
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Zach Edey leads all scorers halfway through
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Halftime: UConn 36, Purdue 30
Purdue took just two 3-pointers in that first half, and Zach Edey and Braden Smith combined for all but five of their points, but the Boilermakers are still in this at the midway point.
