Glendale, AZ—-In an electrifying clash at the Men’s NCAA Finals hosted in Glendale, Arizona, 74,000 fans packed at State Farm Stadium., setting the stage for a historic showdown between UConn and the Purdue Boilermakers.
Zach Edey of Purdue set the tone early with a thunderous alley-oop dunk in the first half, showcasing his dominance in the paint. Both teams started strong, shooting identical percentages from the field, keeping the game tight. Edey’s imposing presence protected the paint, taunting UConn’s crafty guards and fueling Purdue’s momentum.
As the game progressed, Edey continued to shine, asserting himself as Purdue’s driving force with unstoppable plays in the paint.
Edey started out dominating, but ran out of gas in the second half.
The repeat National Player of the Year finished the contest with 37 points on 25 shots, but was held scorless for more than four minutes in the second half.
“I think this is up there with one of the best two-year runs any program has ever had,” Hurley said. “I can’t say anything about Duke, because that’ll piss my brother off. To me it is more impressive than what Florida and Duke did because they brought back their entire teams. We lost some major players.”
Hurley, the former high school coach at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark and the son of legendary coach Bob Hurley Sr., becomes the third active coach with multiple titles — Rick Pitino of St. John’s and Bill Self of Kansas are the others.
The Boilermakers was down by six points at the break (36-30), and the Huskies distanced itself in the second half.
Despite Purdue’s efforts, UConn’s fans brought an unparalleled energy, making it one of the loudest NCAA games in history.
UConn’s Cam Spencer and Tristan Newton stepped up in the second half, maintaining their lead with clutch plays and sharp shooting. Purdue fought back, drawing fouls and capitalizing on free throws to stay in contention. UConn showcased their historic dominance in the second half.
Ultimately triumphing over Purdue with a final score of 75-60. Tristan Newton led UConn’s charge with an impressive stat line of 20 points, 5 boards, and 7 assists and was named the MOP, while Stephon Castle chipped in 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
The Huskies had a 13-point lead with 11:31 remaining in the game, they came up with timely blocks and scoring to put the game on ice.
For Purdue, the loss stung, but they fought valiantly. In a thrilling display of skill and determination, UConn emerged victorious, etching their name in NCAA history once again.
“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 play against somebody, they would have a lockdown defender. These guys are bringing lockdown defenders off the bench.”
