UConn concludes dominant run to 2nd straight NCAA title, beating Purdue 75-60

GLENDALE, Ariz. — A basketball beatdown. A training clinic. A double-digit domination.

Take one guess who completed off a romp by means of faculty basketball once more. You wager, it is UConn — a program constructed to win now, and infrequently, and by quite a bit each time the Huskies take the court docket.

UConn delivered the most recent of its suffocating hoops performances Monday evening, smothering Purdue for a 75-60 victory to grow to be the primary staff since 2007 to seize back-to-back nationwide championships.

Tristen Newton scored 20 points for the Huskies, who received their twelfth straight March Insanity sport — not a single one among them determined by fewer than 13 factors.

UConn was environment friendly on offense however received this with protection. The Huskies (37-3) restricted the nation’s second-best 3-point taking pictures staff to a mere seven pictures behind the arc and solely a single make, whereas fortunately permitting 7-foot-4 AP Participant of the 12 months Zach Edey to go for 37 factors on 25 shot makes an attempt.

UConn won its sixth overall title and joined the 2006-07 Florida Gators and the 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils as simply the third staff to repeat since John Wood’s UCLA dynasty of the Nineteen Sixties and ’70s.

“Cannot even wrap your thoughts round it,” coach Dan Hurley stated. “You simply know the way laborious this event is.”

However is it?

The 2024 Huskies are the sixth staff to win all six event video games by double-digit margins. They received these video games by a grand whole of 140 factors, blowing previous the 1996 Kentucky staff, which received its six by 129.

In a matchup of two high seeds, they wore down the Boilermakers (34-5), who made it this far a yr after changing into simply the second No. 1 seed within the historical past of March Insanity to fall within the first spherical. However Purdue left the identical manner it got here — nonetheless on the lookout for this system’s first NCAA title.

In what was purported to be a free-for-all on this new age of the switch portal and title, picture and likeness offers, UConn has found out find out how to dominate.

“We simply recruit actually gifted NBA gamers which can be prepared to not make it about themselves, and to be a part of a profitable group, to go for all of the championships,” Hurley stated.

Cam Spencer, a switch from Rutgers, Stephon Citadel, a blue-chip freshman, and Alex Karaban, a sophomore from final yr’s staff, spent the evening guarding the 3-point line and making life depressing for Purdue’s guards.

“They only decided — we are able to defend the perimeter, and we are able to take this away from you, you are going to get the ball to your greatest participant, he’ll be 1-on-1, and that is that,” Purdue coach Matt Painter stated. “They have been going to dwell with that.”

This was solely the second time this season Purdue did not put up 10 3-point makes an attempt, and the way ’bout this remaining rating: Edey 37, the remainder of the Boilermakers 23.

How critical was Hurley about defending the perimeter? When Braden Smith wiggled free for a semi-open look to make Purdue’s first 3 of the sport with 2:17 left within the first half, the coach bolted onto the ground and known as timeout.

And that was that from behind the arc.

Together with his Xs-and-Os masterpiece, Hurley joins former Florida coach Billy Donovan within the back-to-back membership, and is in firm with Invoice Self and Rick Pitino as solely the third energetic coach with two championships.

No person will say the UConn coach did not work for this one. Within the first half, he begged with, swore at usually berated the refs about over-the-backs, elbows and hip checks that weren’t known as.

As soon as, when that did not work after Edey set a tough (and possibly authorized) choose towards Citadel, Hurley began in on Edey himself as the middle walked towards the Purdue bench for a timeout.

However the coach’s greatest work got here in no matter lodge room he used to attract up the sport plan. How did he ship it to the Huskies?

“The message was that we have been the very best staff within the nation,” Hurley stated. “Purdue was clearly the second-best staff within the nation. Play to our identification, be who we have been the entire yr, and we’ll be champions.”

It is no slight on Edey, who battled gamely, ending with 10 rebounds to file his thirtieth double-double of the season. However this sport proved the quantity crunchers proper. UConn let Edey again in and again down all evening on 7-2 Donovan Clingan, giving up tough 2s within the submit in trade for any 3s.

In the meantime, as the large fella began sporting down, the Huskies took the ball proper at him. Citadel completed with 15 factors and each Spencer and Clingan had 11. UConn made a modest six 3-pointers, which was proper at its season common.