No. 1 UConn beat No. 1 Purdue 75-60 in the national championship at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., on Monday.
The Huskies (37-3) are the first back-to-back national champion since 2006-07, and the program now has six national championships. The Boilermakers (34-5) fell short in their first Final Four run since 1980.
Tristen Newton led the Huskies with 20 points and seven assists, and Stephon Castle added 15 points. Donovan Clingan had 11 points and five rebounds.
Zach Edey nearly set the tournament record for points. He finished with 37 points and 10 rebounds. Edey finished with 180 points in six games – which is third all time – and 87 rebounds – which is eighth all time.
It just wasn't enough against what has to be considered one of the greatest teams in NCAA Tournament history.
UConn vs. Purdue winners and losers
Winners
Tristen Newton
Newton is the latest UConn guard to step into championship lore after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament for the second straight season. He did a masterful job of controlling the tempo in the first half – changing speeds and playing under control at all times. Newton had 11 points, two assists and no turnovers, and the Huskies led 36-30.
Newton opened the second half with a 3-pointer, and his driving layup over Edey with 12:09 extended UConn's lead to 51-38. When Newton hit Hassan Diarra for a fast-break layup and a 56-40 lead with 9:27 remaining, that was the beginning of the celebration.
BUY NOW: UConn national championship gear on Fanatics
Dan Hurley
Hurley now has guided the Huskies to back-to-back national titles and became the 17th coach to win multiple national championships as a head coach.
Hurley has led UConn to 12 straight tournament victories, and he will have the chance to lead a three-peat in 2024-25. Is Hurley the best active coach in the game? Bill Self is the only other coach with multiple national titles at their current school. Rick Pitino is the only other coach with multiple national titles. Will Billy Donovan come back to the college game and join that list?
UConn had the most-dominant run by average margin of victory in the expanded bracket era. The Huskies beat their six opponents by an average of 23.3 points per game, which is the most by a national champion since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
Hurley said during the trophy presentation that, "UConn has been running college basketball for the last 30 years." Is he wrong?
MORE: UConn will shoot for 3-peat in 2024
Cam Spencer
Spencer, a Rutgers transfer, was the perfect role player in the championship spotlight. He had seven points and an assist in the game's first segment. He finished with 11 points, but Spencer added eight rebounds and was a presence on defense with double teams against Edey throughout the night.
Spencer was not on last year's national title team, but he was a valuable starter on this year's tournament run.
UConn's defensive game plan
Zach Edey vs. Donovan Clingan didn't disappoint in the paint in an old-school center matchup, but the Huskies were willing to let Edey take a hook shot in the middle of the lane on Clingan instead of using double teams. The Boilermakers – who shot 40.6% from 3-point range coming into the game – to just 1 of 2 from 3-point range in the first half.
The Huskies stuck with that game plan in the second half and weathered the foul trouble while building a double-digit lead. Clingan picked up his fourth foul with 7:52 remaining, but by that point UConn had a 17-point lead. Purdue finished with just seven three-point attempts (and one make) after averaging over 20 per game during the season.
Edey was dominant, but there was not enough scoring around him. That seemed to be the Huskies' plan all along.
Camden Heide's dunk
Heide's dunk on a putback with 16:41 will be on the March Madness montage for years to come.
Cam Heide's dunk in four acts 🔥
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) April 9, 2024
📸: @trujillo_riley pic.twitter.com/MtFIVxWSiQ
Losers
Dan Hurley vs. Zach Edey, refs in first half
Hurley took exception to a high-ball screen set by Edey on UConn's Stephon Castle in the first half and exchanged words with Edey on the ensuing timeout.
Zach Edey and Dan Hurley going at each other 👀
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) April 9, 2024
pic.twitter.com/qkPn6CSPA0
Edey drew four first-half fouls on UConn, and Hurley took exception. Maybe too much. Hurley's first-half tantrums were visible, including another one where Castle was called for an offensive foul on Lance Jones. Hurley wanted the flop.
To his credit, Hurley did settle down with the exception of touching Cam Spencer late in the game and nearly picking up a technical foul.
Purdue's offensive help
The Boilermakers had zero bench points in the first half, and UConn outscored Purdue's back-court 29-12 in the first half. Purdue shot 13 of 28 in the first half, which kept it close.
The second half was a different story. The Boilermakers shot 11 of 26 (42.3%) from the floor, and they were 0-for-5 from 3-point range. That was nowhere near enough to make a run at the Huskies.
Braden Smith had 12 points, but the rest of the team outside of Edey combined for 11 points.
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Big Ten championship drought
Michigan State won the Big Ten's last national championship in 2000. Purdue's loss dropped the conference to 0-8 in national championship games since.
There remains a stigma around the conference on the huge stage, and this was the fifth time a Big Ten team lost in a national championship game between No. 1 seeds since 1985. This was the worst Big Ten loss in one of those matchups since No. 1 North Carolina beat No. 1 Michigan State 89-72 in 2008-09.
Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington will join the conference in 2024. Will they help the Big Ten end this drought?
