How UConn, Purdue made it to championship game
It’s been a long time between NCAA Final Fours for Purdue. Connecticut, not so much. But those are the teams left standing as March Madness has morphed into April.
While the early tournament was highlighted by upsets and dramatic finishes, neither was the case in Saturday’s semifinals at State Farm Stadium.
Purdue advanced with a 63-50 win over North Carolina State, ending the Wolfpacks Cinderella story and ninegame win streak while the defending champion UConn Huskies registered an 86-72 win over fiirst time Final Four comer Alabama.
So it will be UConn (36-3) and Purdue (34-4) left to battle it out Monday night.
This will mark just the second championship game appearance for Purdue, which last appeared in 1969 when it lost the title tilt to a John Wooden-coached UCLA team 92-72 in Louisville, Kentucky.
UConn will be looking to repeat after defeating San Diego State for the championship a year ago. The Huskies are looking to be the first team to go back-to-back since the University of Florida did so in 2006 and 2007 under Billy Donovan.
Let’s take a look at how the teams got there:
How Purdue beat N.C. State
Zach Edey was his usual dominant self: It’s hard to defend a guy that is 7-foot-4, a a solid 7-4 at that. Edey nearly had a double-double in the first half alone with 14 points and eight rebounds as the Purdue took a 35-29 lead into the locker room. He finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds. N.C. State had its behemoth in D.J. Burns trying to match up with Edey, but he was still giving up seven inches. Burns picked up his third foul 90 seconds into the second half. Edey is the first player in NCAA tournament history with 20 points and 10 rebounds in six straight games. He played all 40 minutes.
Rebounding: The Boilermakers rank second in the county in rebounding margin at +11 and yes, having a space eater like Edey is a big factor in that. Purdue got the first seven rebounds of the game and ended up with a 41-28 advantage there as well as a 19-7 advantage in second chance points.
Supporting cast delivered: While
Edey gets the majority of the recognition, Purdue had other players do their share. Lance Jones finished with 14 points. Braden Smith didn’t factor much into the scoring column, going 1-for-9 from the field, but he did have eight rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Made free throws: Purdue made nine of 10 tries from the line. The Wolfpack only had four free throws so neither team made a lot of trips. Purdue ranks ninth in free-throw attempts per game at 24.7. The Boilermakers came into the game averaging 71.4%, only 186th so they shot much better from a percentage standpoint than what they have done in the past.
How UConn beat Alabama
Survived a relatively close game: The Huskies came in beating their previous NCAA Tournament foes by an average of 27 points but didn’t get much separation from Alabama until the last five minutes. It was 44-40 UConn at the half. UConn led 67-58 with 8:20 to go but Alabama responded on its end with a 3point play. The Huskies first doubledigit lead of the game was 71-61 with 5:07 to go. They were stellar down the stretch to make the game look more one-sided than was the case.
Assist to turnover ratio: Coach Dan Hurley’s team came in ranked first in the country in this important category 1.91. It was even more stellar than usual finishing with 20 assists on 31 made field goals and had just four turnovers. With numbers like that, you’re not going to lose.
Got bonus effort from someone else: The team’s leading scorer Tristan Newton, a first team All-American,
didn’t have a great game with just 12 points (4-for-11 from the field) although he did have nine assists. Freshman guard Stephon Castle came up big with 21 points to tie a season best. He was 7for-13 from the field. He also had five rebounds, two assists and a steal. All five starters scored in double figures. Donovan Clingan had 18 points, five rebounds and four blocks.
Made free throws: The Huskies made 14 of 18 tries (77.8%) with Castle going 5-for-6 and Alex Karaban going 4for-4 to lead the way. They came in at 74.1% on the season.
Limited 3-point damage in the second half: Alabama stayed close mainly because of its prowess from deep. The Crimson Tide made 8 of 11 tries from deep. It finished 11-for-23. Shots that fell in the first half, didn’t fall in the second half. They missed eight of their first nine tries in the second half. UConn came in allowing 30% on 3-point attempts.
What do they need to do to win a national championship?
Purdue: The Boilermakers had 16 turnovers with Edey having five of those. They also had just 11 assists so that makes for a negative assist to turnover ration. Purdue coach Matt Painter wasn’t overwhelmed by his team’s offensive performance, acknowledging that both played better defense than they did offense so he will be looking for a more efficient showing at that end of the floor. Purdue shot 40% (22-for-55).
UConn: As previously mentioned, it can’t give up so many 3-pointers. That was the biggest issue the Huskies had in this one. It won pretty much every other category.