Current:Home > reviewsHuskies repeat. Connecticut cruises past Purdue to win second national title in row -Financium
Huskies repeat. Connecticut cruises past Purdue to win second national title in row
Indexbit Exchange View
Date:2025-04-10 00:27:29
Connecticut stands alone. Again.
A balanced offensive effort and another dominant second held led the Huskies past Purdue 75-60 to win the national championship for the second year in a row. UConn is the eighth program to go back to back and the first since Florida in 2006-07.
To do so, the Huskies had to overcome another banner night from Purdue center Zach Edey, the two-time Big Ten Player of the Year and just the third player in NCAA men’s history to be named the Naismith Player of the Year multiple times.
"You can't even wrap your mind around it," Huskies coach Dan Hurley said. "It's just shows how hard this tournament is. What a special group of people and special coaching staff. ... The best group of players you could possibly do it with."
Edey scored 16 points in the first half, bullying UConn sophomore Donovan Clingan and drawing double-team attention when Clingan went to the bench with his second foul. But the Boilermakers went without scoring for the final 2:18 of the first half to send the Huskies into the locker room with a 36-30 lead.
FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA basketball bracket, scores, schedules, teams and more.
The halftime deficit was Purdue’s first of the tournament.
And as against Illinois in the Elite Eight and Alabama in the national semifinals, UConn pulled away in the second half with increased defensive intensity and an offensive barrage.
A quick spurt coming out halftime put the Huskies ahead 47-34 after a Samson Johnson dunk with 14:30 left. After a pair of free throws from Edey made it 47-36, the Huskies held Purdue without a field goal for more than four minutes to make the score 56-40 with 9:27 remaining.
Once again, the rout was on. Purdue would draw within 13 points at 59-46 after an Edey dunk with 7:31 to go and again at 67-54 with 2:46 left but had no answers on either end of the court for the Huskies, who controlled the tempo and pace in the second half to drown the one opponent pundits believed had the ability to derail the defending champions.
That wasn’t the case.
Defensively, UConn was unable to slow down Edey, who had 21 points in the second half and finished with 37 points and 10 rebounds.
Edey’s 177 points this postseason are tied for the second most by a player in tournament history with Princeton’s Bill Bradley in 1965 (177 points), trailing Michigan’s Glen Rice in 1989 (184 points).
With Edey tough to contain, the Huskies’ overall depth and wealth of scoring options in the backcourt made the biggest difference. The threesome of Cam Spencer, Tristen Newton and Stephon Castle combined for 47 points on 17 of 38 shooting. Newton repeated as the tournament's most outstanding player.
UConn had four players score in double figures, led by Newton’s 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Despite his foul issues, Clingan added 11 points and five rebounds.
"We recruit really talented NBA players that are willing to not make it about themselves," Hurley said. "To be a part of a winning group and to go for all the championships and while doing that their draft stock still is really, really high. We both win. Uconn wins and the players win."
Along with Edey, Purdue guard Braden Smith had 12 points. But the rest of the Boilermakers went a combined 5 of 27 with 11 points. Despite facing a growing deficit during the second half, Purdue attempted just seven shots from 3-point range, making one. UConn went 6 of 22 from deep.
Overall, the Huskies allowed 18 points during a 20-minute span of game time spanning the first and second halves.
Beating the Boilermakers puts an exclamation point on one of the most impressive runs in NCAA men’s tournament history and gives the Huskies an argument for being counted among the best teams in college basketball history.
The win was the program’s 12th in a row in tournament play, all by double digits. The closest win during this span was 13 points against Miami in last year’s Final Four.
UConn is the fourth Big East team to win the national championship in the past eight tournaments. The last team from the Big Ten to do so was Michigan State in 2000.
veryGood! (4552)
Related
- Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
- Hilary Duff Is Pregnant, Expecting Baby No. 4
- Japan court convicts 3 ex-servicemen in sexual assault case brought by former junior soldier
- Can you guess the Dictionary.com 2023 word of the year? Hint: AI might get it wrong
- Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
- Billy Ray Cyrus' Birthday Tribute to Wife Firerose Will Cure Any Achy Breaky Heart
- Clemson defeats Notre Dame for second NCAA men's soccer championship in three years
- Emma Stone Makes Rare Comment About Dave McCary Wedding While Detailing Black Eye Injury
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- Clemson defeats Notre Dame for second NCAA men's soccer championship in three years
Ranking
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- Amanda Bynes Shares Why She Underwent Eyelid Surgery
- Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell Reveal What It Was Really Like Filming Steamy Shower Scene
- Poland’s new prime minister vows to press the West to continue helping neighboring Ukraine
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Police and customs seize live animals, horns and ivory in global wildlife trafficking operation
- Rights group says security services in Belarus raid apartments and detain election observers
- Most stressful jobs 2023: Judges, nurses and video editors all rank in top 10
Recommendation
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
Broadway audiences are getting a little bit younger and more diverse
'Bachelor in Paradise' couple Kylee, Aven break up days after the show's season finale
Luna Luna: An art world amusement park is reborn
At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
China’s Xi visits Vietnam weeks after it strengthened ties with the US and Japan
EU remembers Iranian woman who died in custody at awarding of Sakharov human rights prize
Fed rate hikes are over, economists say. Here's what experts say you should do with your money.