Eadie takes over Purdue.
With 6:50 left in the first half, the score was tied at 23. This is the Zach Eady show. The two-time NCAA Player of the Year scored 14 of Purdue's 23 points. UConn is currently a 5.5 point favorite and his game total stands at 145.5 points.
Clingan, Johnson ties Edie assignment
With Clingan sidelined, the university turned to Purdue's 7-foot-4 center Samson Johnson as the key defender in Eady. Johnson struggled, committing two fouls and having to sit out shortly after recording his second personal record.
Midway through the first half, UW led 21-18.
With 10 minutes left in the first 20-minute half, University leads Purdue by three, 21-18.
Cam Spencer and Hassan Diarra were the leading scorers in college, while Purdue center Zach Eady led the Boilermakers in scoring.
UConn could have an advantage with a high score.
UW outscored its opponents by a total of 125 points in the NCAA Tournament, while Purdue had a plus-98 rating through five games. The 223 points total is the highest combined scoring difference between two finalists in NCAA Tournament history.
In that case, defense will become more important.
UConn may have an advantage there.
The Huskies were No. 4 in KenPom.com's defensive efficiency rating and locked down late in the game to knock high-scoring Alabama out of the Final Four.
Purdue isn't far behind in D either, ranked 12th by KenPom.
Edie, Klingan already claims its size
Just seven minutes into the title game, the battle between the big teams is progressing as expected. Following the block from University center Clingan earlier, Eadie recorded consecutive blocks to stop University from gaining possession. Eadie also led the team with 11 points.
Purdue went from a first-round knockout to a title shot in a year.
No. 1 seed Purdue is fighting for its first-ever NCAA basketball title, but last year was a much different story.
In the 2023 tournament, Purdue, also the No. 1 seed at the time, was defeated in the first round by Fairleigh Dickinson University in a shocking 58-63 upset.
“Fairleigh Dickinson defeated the Giants,” the Associated Press wrote in a report, calling it one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history.
Purdue senior Mason Gillis said he remembers the team's early exit at the beginning of this year's tournament.
“Instead of ignoring it, we embrace it and talk about it and feed off of it,” Gillis said two weeks ago, according to a report in Indiana's Lafayette Journal and Courier. .
UConn remains a 6.5-point favorite
15:04 left in the first half. The Huskies led 11-9 against the Boilermakers. UConn still has him as a 6.5-point favorite.Game totals are on the rise, reaching up to 147.5 points
Purdue takes the lead.
Purdue's Trey Kaufman-Len took the lead with a 2-point jumper.
Purdue got the tip-off at 9:22 p.m. ET (6:22 p.m. in Arizona, where the game is being played), but Zach Eady missed the shot, resulting in a turnover.
Purdue got a defensive rebound on a missed 3-point shot by University's Alex Karaban, setting up Purdue's first score.
Purdue's Painter brings decades of Boilermakers history into title game
Matt Painter, Purdue's head coach since 2005, will be playing in his first national title game. For many, it has been a long time coming for Painter to be here. Going into the tournament, Painter's name was mentioned most often by his peers when asked who was the greatest coach to ever make it to the Final Four.
But for Painter, perhaps more important now that he's here is which team he leads to the Final Four and tonight's championship game. He's doing it at his alma mater.
Painter played four solid seasons with the Boilermakers from 1989 to 1993, culminating in his senior season when he averaged 8.6 points and 4.5 assists per game. Purdue never made any noise in the NCAA Tournament when Painter was a player, but now he has spent 20 seasons captaining the Boilermakers, winning five Sweet 16s and one Elite Eight. He helped lead Purdue to the title game this year. Year.
University College vs. Purdue University Battle
Two of the top offenses in the country all season, UW and Purdue enter tonight's national title game as a result of balanced attacks with a wide range of offensive weapons. But both teams had seasons highlighted by two of the college game's (literal) towering figures: Boilermakers center Zach Eady and Huskies center Donovan Clingan.
Eadie and Clingan, who stand 7-foot-4 and 7-foot-2 respectively, had stellar performances in the NCAA Tournament, being both named Most Outstanding Players in their respective regions en route to the Final Four and tonight's title game.
Eady, who was named to John Wooden's All-American team and is the favorite to be re-elected as the association's player of the year, averaged 28 points in five games in the tournament, while Clingan averaged 16.2 points per game.
Both have made a huge impact on defense, especially on the boards, with Clingan improving from 7.4 rebounds per game in the regular season to 9 rebounds per game in the tournament, and Eadie averaging a whopping 15.4 rebounds per game. He has a good track record. Until the duo's title game showdown.
