UConn delivered the most recent of their suffocating basketball beatdowns on Monday evening, smothering Purdue for a 75-60 victory to grow to be the primary males’s group since 2007 to seize back-to-back nationwide championships.
Tristen Newton scored 20 factors for the Huskies, who received their twelfth straight March Insanity recreation – not a single one in every of them determined by fewer than 13 factors.
UConn had been environment friendly on offense however received this recreation with protection. The Huskies (37-3) restricted the nation’s second-best three-point taking pictures group to a mere seven photographs behind the arc – Purdue solely made one – whereas fortunately permitting 7ft 4in AP Participant of the Yr Zach Edey to go for 37 factors on 25 shot makes an attempt.
UConn joined the 2006-07 Florida Gators and the 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils as simply the third males’s group to repeat since John Picket’s UCLA dynasty of the Sixties and 70s.
“Can’t even wrap your thoughts round it,” coach Dan Hurley mentioned. “You simply understand how laborious this match is.”
Purdue made it this far a 12 months after changing into simply the second No 1 seed within the historical past of March Insanity to fall within the first spherical. However the Boilermakers (34-5) left the identical means they got here – nonetheless in search of 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 identify, picture and likeness offers, UConn have discovered tips on how to dominate.
The 2024 Huskies are the sixth group to win all six match video games by double-digit margins. They received these video games by a grand complete of 140 factors, blowing previous the earlier excessive of 121 by the 2009 North Carolina group for the very best margin amongst that unique membership.
“We simply recruit actually gifted NBA gamers which are prepared to not make it about themselves, and to be a part of a successful group, to go for all of the championships,” Hurley mentioned.
Cam Spencer, a switch from Rutgers, Stephon Citadel, a blue-chip freshman, and Alex Karaban, a sophomore from final 12 months’s group, spent the evening guarding the three-point line and making life depressing for Purdue’s guards.
Edey battled gamely, ending with 10 rebounds to document his thirtieth double-double of the season. However this recreation proved the quantity crunchers proper. UConn let Edey again in and again down all evening on 7ft 2in Donovan Clingan, giving up troublesome twos in change for any threes.
In the meantime, as Edey began carrying down, the Huskies took the ball proper at him. Citadel completed with 15 factors and each Spencer and Clingan had 11, and it barely mattered that UConn made solely six three-pointers, which was proper at their season common.
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.
“The message was that we had been the most effective group within the nation,” Hurley mentioned of his pregame speak to his gamers. “Purdue was clearly the second-best group within the nation. Play to our identification, be who we’ve been the entire 12 months, and we’ll be champions.”
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