UConn became the eighth school to win a men's basketball national championship on Monday night with a win over Purdue. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
It was billed as a big man battle between UConn's Donovan Klingen vs. Purdue's Zach Eddy. That doesn't give the Huskies guards enough credit.
UConn won its second straight title with a relentless attack from its backcourt in a 75-60 win over Purdue on Monday night.
Tristan Newton, Stephen Castle and Cam Spencer were too much for the Boilermakers, pulling up from range and weaving at will through the Purdue defense as the Huskies pulled away from their second title in as many years. Newton led the team with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Castle had 15 points and five rebounds. Spencer finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Eddie Lo was his usual dominant self on the block and certainly got the better of Klingon in their match, but he didn't get much help from his teammates. The two-time Naismith Player of the Year finished with 37 points and 10 rebounds in the loss as Purdue fell just short of its comeback tour, a year after falling to a No. 16 seed in the tournament's first round.
It's the first time a team has won back-to-back titles since Florida did it in the 2006-07 season.
Read Nick Bromberg's full game story here.
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Here's the moment/video we've all been waiting for:
Tristan Newton is the best player of the Final Four.
Trophy no. 6 is in the air
Zach Edey still put up a great statline in his last game before heading to the NBA.
The Big Ten drought continues.
23 straight Big Ten men's basketball tournaments without a champion from the Big Ten.
UConn's dominance over the past two years has been ridiculous.
UConn claims one of the best two-year runs in NCAA history with a 75-60 win over Purdue *The average margin of victory in the 2024 NCAA Tournament is 23.3 points over six games. *UConn's average margin of victory in the 2023 NCAA Tournament is 20 points in six games.
That will do. UConn goes back and takes its sixth national championship.
Don Hurley barely avoided the funniest ejection in basketball history. UConn is less than 3 minutes away from a championship, and he's pushing his own player onto the court.
UConn is minutes away from winning back-to-back titles, something we haven't seen since 2006 and 2007.
Samson Johnson is out for UConn. Donovan Klingen now has 4. Purdue, however, had no time to capitalize on foul trouble.
UConn leads 63-46 with 5:38 left.
This is the war we came to see.
I think we can end here. Alex Garaban hit a corner 3, then Hassan Tiarra drilled a fast break layup.
Huskies now up 56-40 with 9:27 left.
I don't know how Tristan Newton pulled this off, but he pulled it off. UConn is rolling now.
Zach Edey hasn't scored in more than 10 minutes now, and UConn is still in double figures with 15 minutes remaining.
