The University Of Connecticut defeated Purdue 75-60 to become the eighth college basketball team to join the exclusive club of back-to-back National Championships.
The Huskies once again are on top of the college basketball world after Monday night’s game to cap off one of the most dominant runs in NCAA Tournament history. It was a close, back-and-forth first half, but the last 20 minutes of the game belonged all to Connecticut. The Huskies limited Zach Edey from having much of an impact early in the second half while their offense overpowered Purdue, whether it was near the basket or knocking down 3-point shots at critical moments. By the time Edey found a rhythm, it was too late.
Tristen Newton, who was named the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, led the Huskies with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Even more impressive, Connecticut out rebounded one of the best rebounding teams in the country in Purdue. Connecticut entered March Madness as the No. 1 overall seed and the overwhelming favorite to win the title. The Huskies went on to have an impressive run with a double-digit victory in every single round. The closest margin of victory was 14 and Connecticut won by an average of 23.3 points per game in the NCAA Tournament.
In addition to a net, a trophy and a ring, Connecticut men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley will collect a $500,000 bonus for the Huskies’ defeat of Purdue in the NCAA men’s tournament championship game. If Connecticut wasn’t considered a blue blood before, it certainly has put itself in the conversation among the best college basketball programs in the country. It’s the sixth championship – tied with North Carolina for the third most in Division I – and they’ve all come in the past 26 seasons.
UConn coach Dan Hurley stood on the podium to accept the men’s national championship trophy for a second consecutive season and exclaimed: “We’ve been running college basketball the last 30 years, let’s go!” After the Huskies’ thorough victory against Purdue, Hurley enjoyed himself in the falling confetti and remarked “kinda getting used to this up here, the confetti, the trophy.”
