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UConn forward Samson Johnson celebrates a basket during the second half of the NCAA college basketball game against Alabama at the Final Four, Saturday, April 6, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson )
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — UConn has blown through the NCAA Tournament again to reach college basketball’s final night, this time with a chance to claim the first repeat championship in 17 years.
The final test is facing a Purdue team that spent an entire season proving it had recovered from one of the rarest of NCAA Tournament upsets.
The Huskies and Boilermakers are ready for Monday night’s championship game, a matchup set when Purdue ended North Carolina State’s wild March Madness run, followed by UConn pushing past Alabama in Saturday night’s second semifinal.
“It speaks to the credit of what the coaching staff does — they’ve constructed a beautiful team, as we see,” forward Alex Karaban said.
“They made sure the returners, we weren’t complacent, that we wanted to leave a legacy,” Karaban added. “And for the new guys, they’re hungrier than ever. … To be one win away against a really good Purdue team, it’s going to be a battle and we know that. And it’s going to take everything to make sure that we make history.”
In addition to that history on the line, there’s a pairing of marquee big men in Purdue’s 7-foot-4 Zach Edey — the two-time AP national player of the year — and UConn’s 7-2 Donovan Clingan.
UConn entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency by averaging 126.6 points per 100 possessions, while its defense ranked 11th at 94.4 points allowed per 100 possessions. Purdue was ranked fourth offensively (125.0) and 21st defensively (95.9).
The Huskies (36-3) won their fifth championship last…
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