[Glendale, AZ]  Heading into tonight's game between two #1 seeds, the UConn Huskies had won 13-straight tournament matchups by 13 points or more.  In the way of #14 was the back-to-back Naismith Player of the Year, Zach Edey and Purdue.  Connecticut was also trying to become the first back-to-back National Champions since Florida achieved that feat in the 2006-2007 season. 

It was clear from the beginning that Edey was the game plan as he immediately scored 11 of the Boiler Makers first 16 points.  UConn called a timeout at that point with just a 18-16 lead.  It appeared that they had no answer for Edey and he was going to have a big night. 

“We need to dig more, we need to trap more…what we’re doing now is not sustainable.” Coach Dan Hurley, UConn, when asked how to slow down Zach Edey. 

And the Coach was right, kind of.  UConn made defensive changes by sending help to double-team Edey, mostly with Cam Spencer as the main helper.  And it worked.....kinda.  Even though his rhythm was disrupted, Edey and Braden Smith scored 25 of Purdue's 30 halftime points.  UConn had a 36-30 lead at the half.  

Even though Purdue was ranked #1 in the country in assists per game (18+ APG), they only had a total of four early in the second half.  UConn was doing a great job on defense.  Even though Edey was still practically scoring at will, the UConn defense was making it extremely difficult for everyone else on Purdue to get open shots. 

And when they did get shots off, UConn did a very good job on the boards with all five starters with 5 or more rebounds.  Outside of Edey's 10 rebounds, no other Purdue player had more than four (Gillis).   

Zach Edey would finish the game with 37 points, 10 rebounds, and a pair of blocks. Braden Smith was the only other player for Purdue in double figures.  He would finish with 12 points and 8 assists.  UConn would answer with four of five starters in double figures, led by Triston Newton who had 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists.  UConn would have three other starters in double figures; Castle (15), Spencer (11), and Clingan (11).  Hassan Diarra also added 9 points from the bench.  

It was obvious that Zach Edey was the best player on the court.  But it was also obvious that UConn had the better team.  If these two played 10 games, I would pick UConn to win 10 of 10 times. 

For a Purdue team that was the best in the country at assists per game, they only had eight total, and all of them came from the hands of Braden Smith.  No other Purdue player recorded an assist in the entire game. That says discipline and following through with a solid game plan.  Who knows, maybe the game plan was to let Edey eat down low and play solid defense against everyone else.  If that was the case, UConn executed their plan perfectly.  

The UConn Huskies won the National Championship game 75-60, improving their streak of consecutive tournament wins by 13 points or more to 14 games.  They dominated the stat line as a team also, with 18 assists to 8.  They out rebounded Purdue 32-27 including a 13-8 edge on the offensive board.  And they had less turnovers (9-6).  

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