Efficient unselfish team offense and a stifling defense propelled the Huskies to their second straight title, defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 75-60.
UConn (37-3), in becoming the first program to win back-to-back titles since the Florida Gators in 2006 and 2007, used stellar efforts across the board. Whether it was the nifty passing of Tristen Newton, the defense of Stephon Castle, or the do-everything attitude of Cam Spencer, the Huskies were in fine form on Monday night.
Four starters scored in double figures for UConn as the Huskies shot 48.4 percent from the field. There were struggles from the three-point line (6-22) but a defense focused on stopping Purdue's support cast held the Boilermakers to only seven attempts from deep.
Newton capped his collegiate career by finishing with 20 points, five rebounds, and seven assists and being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four. He also did not have a turnover, with the Huskies only committing eight.
Castle finished with 15 points and Spencer had 11 points and eight rebounds, helping UConn hold a rebounding advantage of seven.
For Purdue, the road to redemption after last year's shocking exit fell just short. Despite the final score, the Boilermakers started strong, and things were back-and-forth early.
First half
The first 20 minutes appeared as if Purdue (34-5) and UConn were headed to an epic battle to the very end. Stats were fairly even and there were three ties and three lead changes in the game's first five minutes (and eight and five, respectively, in the first half).
UConn made a concerted effort to keep the Boilermakers off the three-point line (only 1 of 3 in the first half). Purdue took advantage, scoring 14 of their first 16 points in the paint.
Spencer scored seven of UConn's first 11 points, pacing the team early.
Zach Edey powered Purdue early, getting easy and good looks while getting UConn in foul trouble. Donovan Clingan was making Edey work, though the Purdue big man scored 12 straight points in one stretch.
Purdue went ahead 23-21, their last lead of the game before UConn rattled off a 9-2, eventually going to the locker room with a 36-30 lead.
Edey started the game hitting 7 of 9 from the field and had 16 points in the first half. Braden Smith had a nice go of things early with nine points, three rebounds, and three assists.
Newton had 11 at the break and Spencer, Clingan, and Hassan Diarra off the bench all had seven.
Second half
Newton started the second half off with a three-pointer for UConn and in many ways, it was all downhill for Purdue from there.
Edey went cold and the Huskies tossed double teams at him, frustrating the big man most of the second half. No one else could get going for Purdue and UConn maintained.
The lead for UConn wavered between six and nine before two lovely alley oop passes from Newton to Samson Johnson put the Huskies up 13. Purdue went cold, going over four minutes without a field goal, and the lead swelled to as large as 18.
Edey was able to get going again, hitting eight of his last ten shots but the game was largely out of hand by that point. The Naismith Player of the Year finished with 37 points and 10 rebounds.
Smith finished with 12 points, 3 rebounds, and eight assists. Despite only committing nine turnovers and shooting 44.4 percent from the field, Purdue didn't have enough help around Edey and Smith. Purdue's lineup outside of these two players contributed only 11 points.
Clingan finished with 11 points and five rebounds and Diarra finished with nine points. Alex Karaban contributed a little of everything, finishing with five points, six rebounds, four assists, and two blocked shots.
The Huskies won all six of their games in this tournament by double digits. They allowed only one opponent to score over 70, with the other five scoring 60 or less. It truly was an amazing run for these Huskies and one of the best teams to grace the court in the last two decades.
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photo credit: Flickr
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