By Maxwell Brucks
In a tournament that is known for its unpredictability and craziness the Connecticut Huskies have been a beacon of consistency. Connecticut (UConn) beat the Purdue Boilermakers 75-60 in the Men’s college basketball national championship. This marks the twelfth straight double-digit win in the tournament for the Huskies. The game was competitive for the first half as the Huskies led by six at the half. The second half would prove a different story as the Huskies slowly expanded their lead until they led by 18 points with about 5 minutes left in the game. A game where Purdue felt overwhelmed for the entire second half just never cutting into the Huskies lead until the final buzzer.
National player of the year Zach Edey would lead the game with 37 points on 15-25 shooting from the field. Edey, one of the most polarizing players of the last decade, put on maybe the best performance of his career but came up just short against the Huskies. The Boilermakers only had one other player in double figures with Braden Smith pouring in 12 points. The Boilermakers would also only have two bench points and hit only one three-pointer throughout the entirety of the game. The Huskies went with a more balanced attack as Tristen Newton led the Huskies with 20 points. Donovon Clingan, Cam Spencer, and Stephon Castle were the other Huskies to enter double figures. Clingan’s main assignment was on the defensive end making Edey’s game as hard as possible. UConn was just too much to handle for Purdue who was looking for their first national title as a program.
UConn is now the latest program to win back-to-back national titles taking the spot previously held by the Florida Gators. This is also the sixth national title in the last 25 years for the Huskies making them one of the best programs of the last quarter century. Many people are saying this UConn team is one of the best college basketball teams of all time. When it comes to the coach of the Huskies Dan Hurley, he is already making a name for himself as maybe the best coach in college basketball. As for Purdue, they will look to rebuild off the final four run as Zach Edey is set to graduate as a part of Purdue’s winningest senior class. The Boilermakers made it to the national title game the year after being only the second team ever to lose to a 16 seed. Purdue almost continued the trend of losing to a 16 seed the year prior then winning the tournament. For most of the season, these two teams were on a collision course destined for each other. They met in the final game of the college basketball season and the UConn Huskies, one of the most dominant teams of all time came out on top.
