OAN’s James Meyers
11:08 AM -Tuesday, April 9, 2024
The UConn Huskies became the first team since the 2006-2007 Florida Gators to repeat as champions after dominating the Purdue Boilermakers in a 75-60 win on Monday night.
The Huskies were a class above the rest of the field in the tournament, as they posted a +140 point differential, the best in the tournament’s history.
The team, led by head coach Dan Hurley, put up an unbelievable average scoring margin of victory in all six 2024 NCAA tournament games, finishing at 23.3 points per game.
UConn won 12 straight NCAA tournament games by at least 10 points dating back to last season and did not trail in the second half of any tournament games this year.
“I think it’s up there in terms of the greatest two-year runs that a program maybe has ever had,” Hurley said. “I just think it’s the best two-year run I think in a very, very long time just because of everything we lost from last year’s team. To lose that much, and again, to do what we did again, it’s got to be as impressive a two-year run as a program’s had since prior to whoever did it before Duke. To me, it’s more impressive than what Florida and Duke did because they brought back their entire teams. We lost some major players.”
The much anticipated championship game between Purdue and UConn was expected to be the first true test for the Huskies in almost two years. Purdue was led by reigning “National Player of the Year” Zach Edey and they were the second-best 3-point shooting team in the nation.
The matchup between both men, Edey and Donovan Clingan of UConn, was controlled by the Purdue center to start the game. Edey seemed to be doing whatever he wanted down low in the paint, scoring his 14th point at the 8:00 minute mark, giving his team a 2-point lead.
During the under 8-minute media timeout, Edey and Hurley exchanged words while walking back to their teams huddles.
However, the game plan by Hurley and the rest of the UConn coaching staff had the Boilermakers very limited on offense. They allowed Edey to get his scoring numbers by guarding him one-on-one, while limiting the three point shots for Purdue, which had been a strength for them all season.
The Boilermakers attempted only two-3 point field goals in the first half and only seven for the entirety of the game.
“We watched the film,” UConn guard Tristen Newton said. “They get their 3-pointers off, people going down there and helping on Edey. They did a great job game planning and made sure it was a focus that we didn’t leave the 3-point line and let Edey do his damage. He only shoots 2s. He doesn’t shoot 3s. If he makes 15 2s like he did today, that’s 30. Where are the rest of the points going to come from?”
“The coaches made a point that we’d be really locked in if we could control their 3-point attempts,” Spencer added. “I think holding them to seven, we were just really locked in on not letting those other guys get involved in the game.”
Purdue also made it interesting in the beginning of the second half after Camden Heide had a monstrous putback dunk to cut the margin for UConn to seven.
However, the Huskies were just too much for Purdue, wearing down Edey, who in the previous two games only sat out for a total of 33 seconds of game time. UConn kept countering and came in waves, leading by double-digits for almost 15 minutes in the second half.
Newton won the NCAA tournament’s “Most Outstanding Player” award after finishing with 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists. In the 2023 title game win against San Diego State, Newton had 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists.
With the win, UConn is now tied for third all-time with six championships and joins six other schools that have produced back-to-back men’s basketball champions.
“We’re going to try to replicate it again. We’re going to maintain a championship culture,” Hurley said.
“I don’t think that we’re going anywhere.”
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts