BACK TO BACK! UConn takes its place among immortals with championship repeat

UConn celebrates second straight national championship after Huskies defeated Purdue to cap successful title defense. (Photo by UConn Men’s Basketball)

GLENDALE, Ariz. — At the beginning of the season, the University of Connecticut was doubted. With three starters from last year’s team having moved into the professional ranks, the consensus was that although the Huskies would still be a strong team, it would likely take a step back from the highest of highs.

One year later, UConn ended its journey with the same status it earned last April.

National champions.

Despite surrendering 37 points and 10 rebounds to National Player of the Year Zach Edey, the Huskies locked down his teammates and cut off Purdue’s outside shooting, reaching the summit of college basketball once again with a 75-60 victory over the Boilermakers inside State Farm Stadium.

The coronation is UConn’s sixth in program history — all since 1999 — and solidifies the Huskies as the first repeat champion in the sport since Florida claimed consecutive national titles in 2006 and 2007. UConn’s latest ascent to the top of the mountain is also the fourth for the Big East Conference since its 2013 reformation, a basketball-driven shift that has produced more success in the past decade than any other league in that time.

“What could you say?” Dan Hurley proclaimed in the wake of a triumph that matched him with his older brother, Bobby, also a repeat national champion during his playing career at Duke in 1991 and 1992. “We won, by a lot, again.”

Where UConn (37-3) claimed the decisive advantage that allowed it to cut the nets for a second year in a row was in the backcourt. Purdue’s guards — Lance Jones, Fletcher Loyer and Braden Smith, all of whom displayed lethal marksmanship all season — were held to just 6-for-20 shooting as the trio was outscored by the Huskies’ guards, 55-17.

“We didn’t want to give up threes,” Hurley said after Purdue attempted just seven shots from long distance, of which only one was successful. “We didn’t care if Zach took 25-28 shots to get 30-35 points. This whole game plan was no Smith, no Loyer, no (Mason) Gillis, no Jones. If we keep that collective group under 18-20 points, they had no chance to win, no matter how well Zach played.”

The coach’s vision proved prophetic, as even after Edey scored 16 points in the first half and got the better of Donovan Clingan in the much-hyped battle between the two big men, UConn still led Purdue at halftime, 36-30.

“They did a great job of staying home,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter lamented, complimenting UConn’s three-point defense. “They did a really good job defensively. These guys are bringing lockdown defenders off the bench. Defense always travels. Tip the hat to them, they were great. Danny has done a fabulous job.”

From there, UConn flexed its muscle in the final stanza, opening its lead to double digits through most of the second half, effectively slamming the door just over halfway through the stanza when Alex Karaban’s three turned an 11-point advantage into a 14-point cushion that became insurmountable.

Four Huskies — Clingan, Stephon Castle, Cam Spencer and Tristen Newton — were named to the all-tournament team, with Edey occupying the fifth spot. Newton, who led UConn with 20 points and seven assists Monday night, was named the Final Four’s most outstanding player, averaging 16 points and eight helpers in this weekend’s two games against Alabama and Purdue. Newton also took home the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation’s top point guard.

Hurley notoriously shared his belief that last season’s championship only validated him temporarily, with the luster soon giving way to a desire to get back to work. When asked if the second crown were sweeter, he initially demurred with his remarks before offering a final assessment of the outfit he now leads into college basketball’s pantheon.

“It really doesn’t (feel different),” he opined. “It’s the same feeling you have, you just feel so light right now. But you know what? Maybe it feels a little bit better because knowing how great this team has been, everyone in this organization gave everything so that we could win everything. We wanted to give everything so we could win absolutely everything.”