Sports
No double-teams, no 3s: The UConn defensive math that strangled Purdue and won a title
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Connecticut assistant coach Luke Murray went to sophomore center Donovan Clingan sometime in the middle of this season with a declaration. UConn was going to face Purdue in the national championship, and he’d better get familiar with Zach Edey. Murray and Clingan discussed how they would play the hypothetical matchup, and Clingan said he wanted to play him one-on-one and let the rest of the Huskies win the game.
Murray had the scout for Monday night’s title game, and the coaches decided to stick to Clingan’s request. He would play Edey one-on-one in the post, and Clingan would wall up and force Edey to make tough 2s while his teammates stayed attached on the perimeter and took away 3s. In the pick-and-roll, the Huskies would play two-on-two against Purdue point guard Braden Smith and Edey, not tagging the rollers, and again, staying attached to shooters.
“Statistically,” Clingan said, “it’s really hard to win games just scoring 2s.”
On Monday night, math and UConn’s giant won out. Edey got his, scoring 37 points on 25 shots, but Purdue made just one 3-pointer all night — and the Huskies finished one of the most dominant runs in NCAA Tournament history with a 75-60 win.
Pulling it off would have been impossible without Clingan, who is college basketball’s cheat code on the defensive end.
Few have dared to not bring a double team at Edey, or at least dig in from the perimeter and try to give him something to think about when he puts the ball on the floor. NC State had gone with that strategy on Saturday night, and the Boilermakers made 10 3-pointers, four of which were assisted by Edey on kickouts.
“We watched the film,” UConn guard Tristen Newton said. “They get their 3-pointers off people going down there and helping on Edey.”
Murray also studied the numbers this weekend and noticed a trend in Purdue’s efficiency numbers. Purdue’s success didn’t really hinge on whether Edey was “good or great or excellent.” He always scores, finishing in double figures every game this season. What mattered was the production of starting guards Lance Jones, Fletcher Loyer and Smith along with knockdown shooter Mason Gillis off the bench, particularly what they did beyond the 3-point line. The goal was to keep Edey somewhere between 25 and 28 points, and keep those four under 20.
Yes, Edey surpassed his total, but those other four combined for 17, with Gillis and Loyer both going scoreless.
How that happened was because of what UConn’s guards did as soon as Edey touched it. They left their big man on an island, refusing to leave their assignment.
When Smith got a ball screen, the goal was to send him left and try to slide under the screens, while Clingan would backpedal and not let Edey get behind him. If Edey won the race to the rim, it was going to require bringing in help. Purdue makes that really difficult, because its shooters lift so high up the floor, forcing whoever ends up tagging into a long closeout.
Smith is as good as it gets at making passes like this:
“The idea of a pick-and-roll is, try to put two on the ball and and be in a disadvantage and put stress on the defense,” Murray said. “(Clingan) just takes away a lot of that.”
The Huskies weren’t successful keeping Smith from going right, but Clingan made it so he didn’t need any help from his teammates. It’s an amazing ability for a man who is 7-foot-2 and 280 pounds. He shouldn’t be able to move that much mass backward so quickly, but this is why Clingan will be a lottery pick.
Clingan tried to play cat and mouse with Smith, faking at him as his teammate who got screened tried to get back in the play. From watching film, he knew that Smith preferred to pass the ball when he got up in the air, and the help defender has no choice but to commit. Smith got Clingan once early:
Clingan learned his lesson. The next time, he purposely dropped back, hoping it’d create some indecision for Smith, and it worked to perfection:
This is what Clingan has done all year. Even when he’s not in position, the fear of his shot-blocking spooks opponents. Even Edey was victim to it, missing three shots at the rim that he’d normally make and traveling once when he kept trying to fake Clingan, who wouldn’t bite.
As is typically the case, the Huskies completely change up their game plan when backup center Samson Johnson gets in the game, which is difficult for opponents to adjust to but seamless for UConn. With Johnson, the plan was to double-team Edey, cheating off Camden Heide and then recovering once the ball went back out. The first time Edey saw that, he threw it over Heide’s head and Purdue was called for an over-and-back.
Smith made the right decisions, finishing with eight assists and just one turnover. He had only two reads, really; either feed Edey or try to score himself. He’s killed drop coverage this year with his pull-up jumper, but he made only 2-of-7 jumpers against the Huskies, who purposely tried to wear him down with constant ball pressure from Stephon Castle and Hassan Diarra.
“We’ve played against athletes, played against some really good defensive guys this year and in the tournament, but not the collection of defensive players like UConn has,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We played against somebody, they would have a lock-down defender. These guys are bringing lock-down defenders off the bench.”
The Huskies are relentless, defending with maximum effort every single play and never missing any of the details that their coaches lay out. It’s how they got through this tournament with the closest game being a 14-point win against Alabama. It’s how they kept Purdue to one 3-pointer for only the third time in Painter’s 19 years at the school.
In case you were wondering, those other two games were losses too, including the last time it happened: Feb. 26, 2022, in a loss at Michigan State when the Boilers went 1-of-9 from 3. Edey got his then too, scoring 25.
In three of Purdue’s four losses heading into Monday night, the Boilers had made five or fewer 3s.
Give up 37 to Edey? Many programs would have feared such a scenario. But the Huskies trusted the numbers and Clingan.
“Math won,” Murray said.
Just as they predicted.
(Top photo of Donovan Clingan defending Zach Edey: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)
Sports
Thousand Oaks native Claire Liu finally reaches Wimbledon’s third round, will face Coco Gauff
LONDON — Claire Liu packed her bags and checked out of her London hotel room on Wednesday morning before heading to the All England Club.
It was more pragmatism than pessimism — a reality of a qualifier navigating her Wimbledon journey one day at a time.
But as her boyfriend reminded her while organizing her luggage: “Just because you’re packing doesn’t mean you’re leaving,” Liu recalled with a laugh.
He was right.
The Thousand Oaks native went on to win her second-round match against 51st-ranked Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey 7-5, 6-3, advancing to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time in her professional career. She had tried 29 previous times at majors, including qualifying rounds, since 2015.
“I was just super relieved to get through that,” said Liu, noting she had blown a set and a break lead in the French Open’s second round last month.
For Liu, who turned 26 in May, returning to the manicured lawns of SW19 brings her tennis journey full circle. Nine years ago, she captured the 2017 Wimbledon girls’ singles title — the first American to do so since Chanda Rubin in 1992 — and was the No. 1 junior in the world. She still holds fond memories of that heady achievement, including chatting with her idol, Roger Federer, at the Wimbledon Champions Ball.
Yet, the transition from teenage phenom to professional mainstay has been anything but a linear ascent. When asked if she expected to be in the third round of a major this late in her career given her junior success, Liu was candid.
“Younger me would have believed it more than now,” she said.
That shift in perspective comes after weathering some brutal setbacks.
Liu climbed as high as No. 52 in early 2023 but then endured a wrist injury and took a months-long mental health hiatus in 2024 that eventually saw her ranking plummet outside the top 400 last year.
Currently sitting at No. 146, she’s been rebuilding her standing by playing a mix of WTA 125 events and ITF tournaments before returning to the main WTA Tour, with 2026 stops in far-flung places from Bahrain to Boca Raton and plenty of places in between.
“My goals haven’t changed, but I think the stress of how I got there really took a toll on me,” said Liu.
To navigate the darkness, Liu leaned heavily into both sports psychology and traditional therapy, including EMDR, a technique that helps people process traumatic experiences. She also started a Substack newsletter called “Finding Claire-ity,” where she openly chronicles her life and struggles on the tour.
The Southern California native, who has trained at the USTA facility in Carson since she was 9 years old and resides in Redondo Beach, also split with her longtime coach last season, a difficult decision, and hired Clemens Wagner.
The switch following the U.S. Open last year is clicking.
“I saw in her someone who fought a lot of battles inside herself,” says Austrian-born Wagner, who has a background in tennis analytics.
Together, they have focused on keeping an “aggressive undertone” on the grass, emphasizing coming to the net and squeezing the most out of her game.
Wagner notes that the 5-foot-7 player’s game isn’t the flashiest, but describes her as a “silent killer” who excels at “redirecting pace, standing close to the baseline, constantly putting pressure on her opponents.”
The reboot is starting to pay significant dividends.
Liu put together her best stretch in years this spring, winning a lower-tier title in Trnava, Slovakia, her first professional title since 2024, and then qualifying for the French Open.
Having again successfully navigated three rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw here, Liu has now won five consecutive matches at Wimbledon. Not surprisingly, she currently has no sponsors, just equipment support from Head Sport and Asics Corp., making her Wimbledon run particularly lucrative. By reaching the third round, Liu achieved her highest career payday: around $250,000. A victory Friday would boost that to nearly $400,000.
First, she faces her biggest test yet: a third-round contest against two-time major champion Coco Gauff on No. 1 Court, which perhaps fittingly is the same show court where Liu won the girls’ title almost a decade ago.
Gauff, 22, noted that she and Liu haven’t crossed paths much since Liu is older, but expects a serious battle. Gauff won both of their previous meetings on hard courts.
“I feel like anytime you’re playing a qualifier, it’s always tough because they have three matches already,” the seventh-seeded American said.
Liu, who didn’t even know she was playing Gauff until a reporter told her after her match, is purposefully keeping her focus narrow.
“I will just take today to be happy for winning, and then tomorrow I’ll think about it,” Liu said. “Obviously she’s one of the best players in the world right now, so that’ll be a good experience.”
Veteran Jessica Pegula, 32, the top-ranked American who also toiled away on the sport’s lower tier before becoming a top-10 mainstay, appreciates Liu’s resolve.
“It’s always nice to see girls that are figuring it out slowly but surely,” the No. 4 seed said. “I think I can relate to that.”
Liu’s accommodations? Fortunately, her mother was able to rebook the same hotel after the match, which eased some of the logistical issues for her unexpectedly extended stay in London.
“It definitely makes me stay in the moment, like, day by day,” Liu smiled of her lodging limbo.
On Wednesday morning, Liu packed her bags expecting she might leave Wimbledon. Instead, she emptied them one more time, with the biggest match of her career still waiting.
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Folarin Balogun’s teammates came to his defense after the USA World Cup star was given a red card during the team’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday night.
Balogun received the red card after he stepped on defender Tarik Muharemovic’s right ankle. Brazilian referee Raphael Claus only gave Balogun the card after a VAR review. The red card meant Balogun will not be able to play in the team’s Round of 16 match against Belgium.
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United States’ Folarin Balogun, right, stands by after being issued a red card by Referee Raphael Claus, of Brazil, as United States’ Weston McKennie (8) looks on during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A FIFA official told The Athletic a team cannot appeal against the red card or the suspension. The official pointed the outlet to a portion of the organization’s rules and regulations, which states, “A sending-off automatically incurs suspension from the subsequent match. The FIFA judicial bodies may impose additional match suspensions and other disciplinary measures.”
Balogun’s teammate, Weston McKennie, called the lack of an appeal process “bogus” and disagreed with the referee’s decision to issue the red card.
Bosnia’s Sead Kolasinac (5) talks to United States’ Folarin Balogun after Balogun was sent off, as Christian Pulisic (10) watches during the World Cup round of 32 match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (Julio Cortez / AP)
“Obviously the ref made a decision that he made, but I think it’s questionable,” McKennie said. “I think there’s been many other plays like that throughout the tournament on other players that a card wasn’t given at all. It’s disappointing.”
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said Balogun’s act “was never intentional.”
“It’s never a red card. Never. … If the intention is to damage the opponent, OK, I understand. But that never was. It was a normal action in football that you are fighting for the ball and your feet land,” he said.
Balogun is the third player to score in a World Cup knockout match and be sent off. He follows Brazil’s Ronaldinho in 2002’s quarterfinal match against England and France’s Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final against Italy.
Referee Raphael Claus of Brazil shows a red card to United States’ Folarin Balogun, right, during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match between the United States and Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
It’s the fifth red card handed to an American in the squad’s World Cup history.
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Eric Wynalda received one against Czechoslovakia in 1990, Fernando Clavijo got one against Brazil in 1994 and Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope each received one against Italy in 2006.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
While veterans jockey for new contracts during free agency, young players are getting their tryout opportunities with NBA summer league games beginning this week.
First-round draft pick Cameron Carr and second-year forward Adou Thiero highlight the Lakers summer league roster that was announced Wednesday. The 16-man team will be coached by Lakers assistant coach Ty Abbott and begin summer league play Friday against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center.
The Lakers also face the Miami Heat (July 5, 1:30 p.m.) and San Antonio Spurs (July 6, 4:30 p.m.) in the California Classic before playing in the Las Vegas summer league from July 9-19. The Lakers play Oklahoma City (July 10), Dallas (July 11), the Clippers (July 14) and Chicago (July 16) in Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack Center.
The Lakers traded up in the draft to get Carr, a 6-foot-5 guard out of Baylor, with the 24th overall pick. He will make his unofficial NBA debut, along with former Indiana State and Saint Louis star Robbie Avila. The 6-10 center became a bespectacled college basketball cult hero known affectionately as “Cream Abdul Jabbar” while leading Indiana State to the NIT championship game in 2024. He transferred to Saint Louis, where he was named Atlantic-10 player of the year as a senior when the Billikens won a school-record 29 wins.
Although he is entering his second season with the Lakers, Thiero will be playing his first summer league games. Persistent knee injuries hampered his rookie season. The athletic 6-7 forward averaged 1.9 points and 1.1 rebounds in 25 appearances last season. He said after the Lakers were eliminated from the playoffs that he wanted to improve on his three-point shooting during his second year. He attempted only five three-pointers during his rookie season, regular season and playoffs, making one.
Lakers summer league roster
Robbie Avila, C, 6-10, 240
Cameron Carr, G, 6-5, 190
Jon Elmore, G, 6-3, 190
Luke Goode, F, 6-7, 210
William Hickey, G, 6-4, 203
Arthur Kaluma, F, 6-7, 225
William Kyle III, C, 6-9, 230
Chris Mañon, G, 6-4, 212
Robert McCray V, G, 6-4, 188
AK Okereke, F, 6-7, 245
Chase Ross, G, 6-5, 210
Zhaire Smith, G, 6-4, 205
Peter Suder, G, 6-5, 215
Adou Thiero, F, 6-7, 234
Anton Watson, F, 6-8, 225
Jacari White, G, 6-3, 180
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