College Basketball: UConn defeat Purdue to claim second consecutive NCAA Championship

UConn knew no one could take away its 2023 title, so the Huskies went out and won another one just in case. Tristen Newton scored 20 points and dished out seven assists as top-seeded Connecticut defeated Purdue 75-60 on Monday night to win its second consecutive national championship.

"Last year was last year," Newton said. "That trophy, the (2023) trophy is in the crib, in coach (Dan Hurley's) office, and nobody can take that from him. ... Credit coach for setting the tone, and everybody just follows his lead."

Stephon Castle added 15 points, while Cam Spencer and Donovan Clingan each had 11. The Huskies (37-3) found a way to limit the Boilermakers' offence outside of centre Zach Edey.

Edey, the two-time National Player of the Year, scored 37 points on 15-of-25 shooting, but most of his points came in the second half, when Purdue (34-5), also a No. 1 seed, was facing a significant deficit.

UConn was quicker, more efficient from the field, and tougher on defence than the Boilermakers, who remained competitive until early in the second half, when the game began to slip away from them.

"We watched the film. They get their 3-pointers off people going down there and helping on Edey," Newton said. "(The UConn coaching staff) 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 twos. He doesn't shoot threes. If he makes 15 twos like he did (Monday), that's 30. Where are the rest of the points going to come from?"

Purdue shot just 1-for-7 from beyond the arc.

The Huskies are the first team to win consecutive NCAA Tournament championships since Florida did so in 2006-07. Newton, Castle, Clingan, and Spencer made the Final Four All-Tournament Team, joining Edey.

Newton was named the Most Outstanding Player.

Edey missed his first three shots in the second half, and UConn led by nine when Castle converted a putback for a 43-34 lead with 16:08 remaining. A lob from Newton to Samson Johnson for a dunk gave the Huskies a 47-34 lead.

"I just got to play better," Edey said. "This is one of those games where I can't go through stretches where I'm not effective. I had a few of those stretches ... and that was the game."

Newton drove the lane and flipped a two-handed layup over the 7-foot-4 Edey, giving UConn a 51-38 lead with 12:06 remaining.

With 9:53 remaining, the Huskies took command with an Alex Karaban 3-pointer, and Hassan Diarra added a layup for a 56-40 lead. Purdue couldn't come back, trailing by at least 13 the rest of the way.

Aside from Edey, the Boilermakers shot 9-for-29 (31 percent) from the floor during the game. Purdue's Braden Smith scored 12 points and assisted eight times. Edey also brought in ten boards.

Edey energised Purdue for much of the first half, making 7 of 12 shots. In one sequence, he flatly denied two UConn attempts near the rim.

Edey was a force down low, even when facing Clingan, who, despite standing 7-foot-2, could only keep the 300-pound Edey from scoring when he was able to force the Boilermakers' big man out of the paint.

But UConn caused everyone else on Purdue to miss their shots.

"They were just going to let us play one-on-one in the post. You see the 25 attempts that Zach had," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "Not everybody can do what they just did. You have to give credit to their defense and their coach and how they're wired."

SportsLigue