It was billed as a big-man battle between Purdue’s Zach Edey against UConn’s Donovan Clingan. That didn’t give the Huskies guards enough credit.
UConn won a second straight title on Monday night through a relentless attack from its backcourt in a 75-60 win over Purdue.
Tristen Newton, Stephon Castle and Cam Spencer were just too much for the Boilermakers, pulling up from range and weaving through the Purdue defense at will as the Huskies pulled away from their second title in as many years. Newton led the team with 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds. Castle had 15 points and five rebounds. Spencer finished with 11 points and eight rebounds.
Edey was his usual dominant self on the low block and definitely got the better of Clingan in their matchup, but he didn’t have much help from his teammates. The two-time Naismith Player of the Year finished with 37 points and 10 rebounds in the loss as Purdue fell just short in its redemption tour a year after falling to a 16-seed in the first round of the tournament.
It’s the first time a team has won back-to-back titles since Florida did it in the 2006-07 seasons.
Read the full game story from Nick Bromberg right here.
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