CNN —
Connecticut became the first Division I men’s college basketball team to win back-to-back championships since Florida 17 years ago, as the Huskies downed Purdue 75-60 in the NCAA title game Monday.
“You can’t even wrap your mind around it because you just know how hard this tournament is,” UConn head coach Dan Hurley said after the game in Glendale, Arizona. “What a special group of people, a special coaching staff and incredible group of players. The best group of players you could possibly do it with and UConn. UConn’s a special place this time of year and they give us all the resources we need to do it like this in March and April.”
The Huskies (37-3) have now won six national championships, joint-third in the all-time men’s NCAA Division I basketball list. All six have come since 1999, more than any other men’s team in that span and second only during that time to the school’s women’s team (10).
Four of UConn’s five starters finished with double-digit points. The Huskies were led by All-America guard Tristen Newton with 20 points and seven assists. Guard Stephon Castle had 15 points. Guard Cam Spencer and center Donovan Clingan each had 11 points.
“Credit to my teammates and coaching staff for putting me in the right positions to make plays, score, get people involved and get the win tonight,” said Newton, who was selected as Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
National player of the year Zach Edey scored 37 points and had 10 rebounds for Purdue, which finished the season 34-5.
UConn players celebrate after defeating Purdue in the men's Final Four championship game in Glendale, Arizona, on Monday, April 8.
Confetti falls as the Huskies hoist the trophy while celebrating their national championship win.
Purdue's Zach Edey reacts after losing to UConn.
UConn head coach Dan Hurley celebrates the team's win.
UConn's Stephon Castle attempts a shot while being guarded by Purdue's Mason Gillis.
Purdue fans look on during the championship game.
Purdue's Fletcher Loyer loses control of the ball while being guarded by UConn's Cam Spencer and Donovan Clingan.
UConn cheerleaders root for their team during game.
UConn's Cam Spencer celebrates in the second half.
Purdue's Zach Edey attempts a shot in the second half.
Purdue's Lance Jones vies for the ball with UConn's Cam Spencer during the second half.
UConn's Cam Spencer shoots the ball over Purdue's Lance Jones.
UConn's Hassan Diarra leaps above Purdue's Trey Kaufman-Renn.
UConn head coach Dan Hurley argues with the referee during the first half.
Tristen Newton of UConn is defended by Purdue's Zach Edey.
Zach Edey of Purdue attempts a shot.
Purdue's Zach Edey runs up court with UConn's Donovan Clingan.
Trey Kaufman-Renn of the Purdue Boilermakers is guarded by UConn's Donovan Clingan.
UConn's Tristen Newton takes a shot in the first half.
Fans pack State Farm Stadium for the championship game.
Purdue head coach Matt Painter yells during the first half.
UConn and Purdue players vie for the ball in the first half.
UConn fans cheer before the start of the championship game.
Fans pose for photos outside State Farm Stadium prior to the game.
UConn's Donovan Clingan and Youssouf Singare celebrate their 86-72 victory over Alabama in the Final Four game on Saturday.
UConn fans cheer during the game.
Alabama forward Mouhamed Dioubate walks off the court after losing to UConn.
Huskies guard Stephon Castle throws down a dunk. He was UConn's leading scorer with 21 points.
Clingan, right, looks to pass.
Alabama's Grant Nelson dunks over Clingan in the second half. Nelson racked up 19 points during the game.
Huskies guard Cam Spencer dribbles the ball while being guarded by Nelson.
Alabama guard Rylan Griffen shoots in the second half.
Alabama coach Nate Oats talks to his team during a time out in the first half. Alabama trailed UConn 44-40 at halftime.
Castle dunks the ball in the first half.
Spencer celebrates after making a shot in the first half. He added 14 points during the game.
UConn forward Alex Karaban fouls Alabama guard Rylan Griffen in the first half.
Nelson shoots past Clingan.
Alabama forward Nick Pringle battles for a loose ball.
Alabama's Mark Sears attempts a shot during the first half.
UConn head coach Dan Hurley directs his team.
Clingan dribbles the ball under pressure from the Crimson Tide.
Clingan and Pringle reach for the opening tip off.
Hurley talks to the team during player introductions before the game.
The UConn Pep Band performs ahead of the game against Alabama.
Purdue's Fletcher Loyer celebrates after beating the North Carolina State Wolfpack 63-50.
NC State forward DJ Burns Jr. walks off the court after losing to Purdue.
Purdue's Zach Edey guards the basket in the second half. The star big man had 20 points, 12 rebounds and four assists.
Purdue guard Lance Jones shoots the ball against NC State guard Jayden Taylor in the second half. Jones added 14 points during the game.
DJ Horne of NC State dribbles the ball past Purdue's Mason Gillis.
Loyer dribbles the ball toward the basket.
Burns is defended by Zach Edey in the second half.
Burns and Edey interact in the first half. The Boilermakers led 35-29 at halftime.
Gillis, center, and NC State forward Mohamed Diarra, right, chase down a loose ball.
Loyer shoots over NC State guard Casey Morsell.
NC State coach Kevin Keatts watches in the first half.
Wolfpack guard Jayden Taylor dibbles the ball.
Horne goes for a layup against Edey.
The Boilermakers run out into the stadium ahead of the game.
Wolfpack fans cheer before the game.
Crowds gather to watch the Boilermakers take on the Wolfpack.
The best photos from the men's March Madness Final Four
The game was close throughout the first half before the Huskies went on a 15-7 run to propel themselves from a 2-point deficit to a 36-30 lead at the intermission. Newton scored 11 points in the period.
Edey had 16 first-half points, and during one stretch early in the period the 7-foot-4 center scored all 11 Purdue points. But the deficit at half was the first time the Boilermakers trailed after the first 20 minutes in the tournament.
Everything went right for UConn in the second half as the Huskies pulled away to join Cincinnati, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Oklahoma State, UCLA and San Francisco as schools that became repeat champions.
In the second half, the Huskies used an 8-2 run to take a double-digit lead. More importantly, they kept Edey in check, in total holding him scoreless for nearly 12 minutes – six minutes to end the first half and the beginning of the second. The Boilermakers were also limited from the 3-point line, going 1-for-7 in the game.
“We were going to go to the well with Zach as much as we could at that point,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter said of Purdue’s second-half troubles. “In a game like this, we had to be able to rebound defensively better, and then we had to have something balance that out. That was threes. They (UConn) stayed home with us. They did a really good job defensively.”
The Huskies shot 48.4% for the game and made six more field goals than the Boilermakers, five of which were 3-pointers.
Back-to-back
UConn has been a dominant force in men’s college basketball in the last 25 years, winning six titles since 1999, nearly a quarter of the championships contested. Its tournament prowess was on show this year, outclassing team after team as it bulldozed its way to the final.
UConn boasted the nation’s best scoring margin as a result of the most efficient offense in the country and a top-five defense.
Its dominance on both sides of the ball was on full display in the Elite Eight against Illinois. With the score tied at 23 in the final minutes of the first quarter, the Huskies went on a relentless 30-0 run to completely shutout Illinois for almost nine minutes en route to a 77-52 victory.
On its quest to become repeat champions, UConn won all six games in a single NCAA tournament by 13-plus points for a second straight year. Last year, the Huskies became the first program in men’s Division I history to accomplish the feat.
Runners-up again for the Boilermakers
The Midwest Region champion, Purdue, was trying to banish prior demons in a quest for its first national championship title. The Boilermakers last appeared in the NCAA championship game in 1969, where they were runners-up.
They had a point to prove this year after crashing out last season in the tournament’s second-ever 16-over-1 upset defeat. That disappointment continued 44 years of continuous heartbreak for Purdue, who have consistently fallen short of expectations, succumbing to bad luck and shock defeats.
“We didn’t run from it. We talked about how we felt about losing, we talked about how we were going to grow from it,” Purdue forward Mason Gillis said after the Boilermakers beat North Carolina State in their Final Four game on Saturday.
“We didn’t just talk about it, we walked the walk. I don’t want to say we wouldn’t be in this situation if we didn’t lose to them, but it definitely fueled us; sitting in that loss, seeing it on social media 24/7, seeing it on TV.”
The Boilermakers flipped the narrative this year, blowing out Grambling State and Utah State in the opening two rounds before defeating No. 5 Gonzaga 80-68 in the Sweet 16.
Then they narrowly took the win against No. 2 seed Tennessee in the Elite Eight and downed No. 11 seed North Carolina State in the Final Four to earn a shot at the first national championship in program history.
But once again the Big Ten champs came up short in the final game of the season.
CNN’s Homero De la Fuente contributed to this report.
