GLENDALE, Ariz. — It was 2007 all over again. The best player stood no chance against the team in search of history. That year,
Florida completed its back-to-back national championship run by getting the better of Ohio State and Greg Oden. Monday night, Connecticut joined those Gators as the only team to repeat this century. It did so in more impressive fashion: With three new starters and by treating this NCAA Tournament like a series of scrimmages. Purdue and Zach Edey hung with the overall top seed for a half, but the Big Ten champion had no chance when coach Dan Hurley’s team turned up the intensity. The Boilermakers didn’t have the same gear. The game was out of hand midway through the second half, UConn cruising to its sixth national championship, 75-60, in front of 74,423 at State Farm Stadium. In beating all six of opponents in the tournament by double figures, the Huskies matched last year’s team’s impressively dominant run, and gave the Big East a champion for the fourth time in eight years. Purdue was the first No. 1 or No. 2 seed UConn had faced in this run, and it hardly mattered. The Boilermakers looked like all the other overwhelmed opponents. Hurley, the former high school coach at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark and the son of legendary high school 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. Edey started fast, but ran out of gas. The repeat National Player of the Year finished with 37 points and 10 rebounds, but most of it was hollow. When UCoon took over early in the second half, he was quiet, slowed down by Donovan Clingan. The Connecticut guards, meanwhile, only got better as the game went on, having their way with their slower, smaller and less athletic Boilermaker counterparts. It was a mismatch in the backcourt, future NBA players against nice college guards. The UConn trio Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer and Stephon Castle outscored Fletcher Loyer, Braden Smith and Lance Jones, 46-17, overpowering them with length and
explosion. The first half felt similar to Saturday, in which
Alabama played its “A” game, did everything right and still trailed at the break. Purdue dictated pace, limited turnovers and Edey played well. The Boilermakers were still behind by six at the break, despite 16 points from Edey and nine more from Smith. Newton was the best guard on the floor, notching 11 points on a series of drives into the lane while Hassan Diarra, Clingan and Spencer each had seven. Early on, Edey was having his way with Clingan, the fellow 7-footer. He was getting deep position and finishing at will. Hurley felt the officials were missing illegal screens on the star center, and exchanged words with Edey at one point. But the big man began to slow down, managing just two points over the final 8:09. In that span, Connecticut went on a 15-7 run to close out the half. The Huskies started the half with the same ferocity, quickly pushing the lead into double figures. A change of pace to Clingan, Samson Johnson scored on consecutive alley-oop dunks, extending the lead to 13. After Edey answered with four straight points, Connecticut punched back, with consecutive baskets from Spencer and Newton. It was still a 13-point bulge and 11:31 remained in the college
basketball season. But, really, it was no longer in doubt. Connecticut fans, outnumbered and out-shouted for most of the evening, were making their voices heard. With 36 seconds left, Hurley emptied the bench, inserting his son, Andrew, into the game. For the 12th time in the past two years, Andrew got to dribble out the clock of an NCAA Tournament game. Hurley hugged his starters and waved his arms for the Huskies fans to get louder. The college basketball world had repeat champions for the first time in 17 years — and Connecticut made it look easy.