For the second year in a row, UConn reigns over the men's college basketball world.
The Huskies captured their second straight national championship on Monday night, knocking off No. 1 seed Purdue 75-60 in the championship game.
UCONN GOES BACK-TO-BACK
— ESPN (@espn) April 9, 2024
The Huskies are the first team to win consecutive national championships since 2006-07 pic.twitter.com/RwmsmeBFuy
UConn now holds six national titles all-time, capturing crowns in 1999, 2004, 2011 and 2014 to go with their runs through the NCAA Tournament the last two seasons. The Huskies are now tied with North Carolina for the third-most men's championships in NCAA history.
With 11 national titles from their dynasty of a women's team – the most on that side of the sport – the Huskies now hold 17 combined championships across both genders, also the most all-time. UCLA is second all-time for combined titles with 11 total, all on the men's side of things.
The Huskies also captured both the 2024 Big East regular season and tournament shampionships.
Tristen Newton paved the way for UConn against the Boilermakers, collecting 20 points. Stephon Castle followed with 15.
Center Donovan Clingan also played a pivotal role in trying to limit star Purdue center Zach Edey, college basketball's back-to-back national player of the year. Edey put on a dominant performance nonetheless, racking up 37 points in a losing effort, but Purdue went a measly 1-of-7 from three. Clingan posted 11 points, five rebounds and a blocked shot.
UConn carried a six-point lead into halftime and pulled away at the start of the second half, going ahead 49-38 with more than 13 minutes to play and leading by double-digits the rest of the way.
Entering as the tournament's No. 1 overall seed with a 31-3 record, UConn's road to the championship game included wins over fifth-seeded San Diego State in the Sweet 16, third-seeded Illinois in the Elite Eight and fourth-seeded Alabama in the Final Four. Their smallest margin of victory came in an 86-72 shelling of the Crimson Tide, marking the second year in a row that UConn won all six of its NCAA Tournament games by double digits.
The Huskies' +140 point differential across its six games this year set an NCAA Tournament record.
