Top-seeded Purdue is facing defending champions Connecticut for the championship tonight. With 10 minutes to go, UConn had a 54-40 lead — it's largest of the night.
Purdue, fresh off its first Final Four appearance in 44 years, has its sights set on its first NCAA Tournament victory.As UConn has aggressively built its second-half lead the Huskies have paid a bit of a price. Three Huskies are in foul trouble, including the two big men tasked with defending Edey: Johnson and Clingan both have four fouls.There's 11:45 left in the second half, and UConn is starting to think about cutting down the nets as it leads Purdue 51-38. Newton now has 16 points.
But potentially more notable so far is his game-changing shot-altering ability. Edey has a couple of blocks. UConn is 45-0 when leading at halftime. It leads 36-30 after 20 minutes. The Huskies are now laying 8.5 points with the game total at 140.5 points. UConn isn’t nearly as proficient from the arc, but it has two players who can create their own shots in Tristen Newton and freshman Stephon Castle.
Zach Edey #15 of the Purdue Boilermakers handles the ball while being guarded by Alex Karaban #11 and Donovan Clingan #32 of the Connecticut Huskies in Glendale, Ariz., on Monday.While No. 1-seeded Purdue fights for its first NCAA basketball title in history, last year it was a starkly different tale.
Edey and Clingan, who are 7-foot-4 and 7-foot-2 respectively, have had shining NCAA Tournaments, and were both named most outstanding player of their respective regions on the way to the Final Four and tonight's title game. Last season, UConn capped its impressive postseason run with a 17-point victory over San Diego State. Purdue will look to end UConn's undefeated and blowout victory streak tonight.The first half spread has UConn favored by 3.5 points over Purdue , with the first half total set at 68.5 points.Perhaps it’s appropriate that Purdue and UConn meet in tonight’s NCAA final, as one of the most exciting things about this tournament has been watching both teams put away games with ease.
After Purdue thrashed Wabash College 44-0 in 1891, the Daily Argus-News of Crawfordsville, Indiana, ran the headline “Wabash Snowed Completely Under by the Burly Boiler Makers From Purdue.”
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