Tristen’s Time
UConn’s Newton named Most Outstanding Player of Final Four
In the semifinals against Alabama, all five UConn starters scored in double figures. On Monday night, in the final against Purdue, four of the five did.
Everyone in the group had between 6-8 rebounds going up against 7-foot-4 Purdue center Zach Edey, and the guards combined to shut the Boilermakers down on the perimeter.
How do you pick a Most Outstanding Player from a blue and white hammer that swung so collectively well in driving home the final nails in UConn’s second straight national championship?
Perhaps for a team that shared the rock so well, it belonged in the hands of the guy who shared the most, and that was senior guard Tristen Newton.
The fifth-year senior guard, who arrived in Storrs from El Paso, Texas by way of East Carolina, capped his career being named Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
When the award was presented amid the on-court celebration, Newton dished one final assist.
“Just go for the moment,” he said of his performance. “And credit to my teammates and coaches for putting me in the right position to make plays and score and get people involved and get the win tonight.’
Newton scored a team-high 20 points in Monday’s 75-60 victory over Purdue, following up on the 12 he had in the 86-72 semifinal win over Alabama on Saturday night.
More telling: Newton played all but six minutes of those two games and racked up a combined 16 assists with 9 against Alabama and 7 against Purdue. Both were game highs.
Newton’s all-around work Monday night was encapsulated in the 20-10 run that stretched UConn’s 36-30 halftime lead to double digits over the first 10 minutes of the second half:
• He knocked down a 3-pointer to open the scoring;
• Fed Samson Johnson for two straight alley-oop dunks;
• Drove past Edey for an off-the-hip layup;
• Dished to Alex Karaban for a 3-pointer and set up Hassan Diarra for a fast break layup.
Defensively, Newton was a pivotal piece of the perimeter patrol that limited Purdue to seven 3-point attempts and just one make.
The Huskies knew Edey would get his in
side, which the big man did, racking up a game-high 37 points. The key, Newton noted, was taking away Purdue’s outside game and limiting the supplemental scoring.
“It took him 25 shots to get 37 points, so that was the game plan: Just limit the guards,” Newton said. “Edey, he only shoots twos; he shoots no threes. If he makes 15 twos, like he did today, that’s 30, and where are the rest of the points going to come from?”
Down the stretch, as Purdue brought full-court pressure in a bid to rally, Newton was instrumental in the press-break and he helped salt away the victory knocking down 4 of 4 free throws, including both ends of a 1-and-1.
Final tally: 6-for-6 at the line, 6-for-13 from the floor, including 2-for-5 from beyond the arc.
And, when the ball was in his hands, it was perfectly secure. Newton had zero turnovers on the night.