UConn topples Canada’s Edey, Purdue to win 2nd straight NCAA men’s basketball title

UConn delivered the newest of its suffocating basketball beatdowns Monday evening, smothering Purdue for a 75-60 victory to change into the primary group since 2007 to seize back-to-back nationwide championships.

Tristen Newton scored 20 factors for the Huskies, who gained their twelfth straight March Insanity recreation — not a single one in all them determined by fewer than 13 factors.

UConn was environment friendly on offence however gained this with defence. The Huskies (37-3) restricted the nation’s second-best 3-point taking pictures group to a mere seven photographs behind the arc — Purdue solely made one — whereas fortunately permitting 7-foot-4 AP Participant of the Yr Zach Edey, the Toronto native, to go for 37 factors on 25 shot makes an attempt.

UConn joined the 2006-07 Florida Gators and the 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils as simply the third group to repeat since John Picket’s UCLA dynasty of the Sixties and ’70s.

Purdue made it this far a yr after turning into simply the second No. 1 seed within the historical past of March Insanity to fall within the first spherical. However the Boilermakers (34-5) left the identical approach they got here — nonetheless in search of this system’s first NCAA title.

The 2024 Huskies are the sixth group to win all six event video games by double-digit margins. They gained these video games by a grand complete of 140 factors, blowing previous the earlier excessive of 121 by the 2009 North Carolina group for the very best margin amongst that unique membership.

Cam Spencer, a switch from Rutgers, Stephon Fortress, a blue-chip freshman, and Alex Karaban, a sophomore from final yr’s group, spent the evening guarding the 3-point line and making life depressing for Purdue’s guards.

This was solely the second time this season Purdue did not put up 10 three-point makes an attempt, and the way ’bout this closing rating: Edey 37, the remainder of the Boilermakers 23.