The University of Connecticut men’s basketball team defeated the Purdue Boilermakers 75-60 in Glendale, Arizona, Monday night to win the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s major division championship trophy.
The Huskies held a 36-30 halftime lead over the Boilermakers, despite Purdue’s 2.2 meter (7 feet, four inches) tall center Zach Edey scoring 16 first half points. UConn pulled away in the second half by shutting down Purdue’s outside shooters, holding them to just one of seven three-point attempts.
UConn’s Tristen Newton was named the tournament’s most outstanding player after finishing with 20 points, with teammates Stephon Castle scoring 15 points and Cam Spencer and Donovan Clingan finishing with 11 points apiece.
Edey, the National Player of the Year, ended the game with 37 points.
Monday’s win was the second consecutive NCAA championship for the Huskies, joining the 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils and the 2006-07 Florida Gators as the only other teams to win back-to-back men’s titles after the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Bruins dynasty of the 1960s and 70s.
Connecticut has now won six total national championships over the last 25 years, putting them into a third-place tie with the North Carolina Tar Heels for the most titles, behind UCLA with 11 championships and the Kentucky Wildcats with eight.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.