Just before practice begins at the University of Connecticut, coach Dan Hurley likes to throw up several half-court shots to try to sink at least one. Once he hits one, he immediately lines up for another, exalting himself by saying “Who is the king of the two in a row?” to which the attendants respond “You are” before he inevitably misses.
If Hurley is unlikely to make two consecutive half-court shots, then winning two national championships in a row must be unfathomable – the basketball equivalent of Absolute Zero. No one had done this since Florida in 2007, and in this day and age of NIL, keeping the kids around to pull off such a feat never happens.
But as improbable, unfathomable and absolutely rubbish as they are, Dan Hurley, the king of two-in-a-row, now mocks these odds. Because that’s what he is now, the first man since his mentor Billy Donovan to win back-to-back national titles.
He did it through ruthless scheming, efficiency, tough practices and the stickiness of a group of players he kept together out of fear of poaching by other coaches and through acquisition from a transfer portal that embodies its energy to a T. They swept the Big Eastern Conference, losing just two games en route to a regular season title and a conference tournament title.
And now he has the Big One again. Hurley’s Huskies did it in Phoenix, defeating Zach Edey and the Purdue Boilermakers in a national title game for the ages that ended with UConn winning its sixth crown in 25 years to tie North Carolina for third rank of all time.
UConn was crowned back-to-back NCAA champions after beating Purdue on Monday night
The Huskies toppled the Boilermakers 75-60 at State Farm Stadium in the title game.
Doing what Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies just did requires context. The feat of repeating a national title has always been difficult – only six teams have ever done it – but the teams that have accomplished it have almost never had to replace the majority of their starting lineup.
Consider that the last three teams to repeat (the 2006-07 Florida Gators, the 1991-92 Duke Blue Devils and the 1972-73 UCLA Bruins) returned at least four players to their starting lineup in the years they won everything.
This year, UConn only brought back Alex Karaban and Tristen Newton, losing three starters to the NBA. And despite all this, they have improved. They have improved a lot.
The key matchup of the evening was between the two seven-footers – Edey at 7-foot-4 for Purdue and Clingan at 7-foot-2 for Connecticut. This is the first time two players taller than 7 feet have faced each other in a national title match since Hakeem Olajuwon vs. Patrick Ewing in 1984.
From the start, it was clear that neither player had really faced anyone like them before – with Clingan’s defense altering Edey’s first shot. The Boilermaker gained the upper hand over his counterpart on the next occasion. The honors were even at the first timeout for the under-16s – two goals, two misses.
Zach Edey’s 37 points weren’t enough to help the Boilermakers keep pace with the champions
Edey began to pick up more pace in the next interval – reaching eleven points with less than eleven and a half to play. Hurley was seen berating the officiating crew of Terry Oglesby, Roger Ayers and Jeffery Anderson for what he thought was a blatant foul by Edey. Purdue fans began yelling about a technical problem, but Hurley was taken away by assistants.
After the first media timeout of less than eight minutes, Clingan began to exert his presence in the paint more – disrupting two Edey attempts while scoring four points to help give Connecticut a 30-25 lead with 3 :49 to play in the first half. .
The first half ended with a flurry of points from Purdue’s Braden Smith, who had struggled in the tournament up to that point. But a perfectly executed timeout by Hurley led to a Purdue drought to end the half with the Huskies up 36-30.
After intermission, Edey missed his first three shots and Purdue was outscored 7-4 by the first media stoppage. But at that point, Clingan picked up his third foul, necessitating a short benching period with the Huskies leading 43-34.
Samson Johnson subbed in and had his first offensive contribution of the game with a lob dunk over Edey to give UConn its first double-digit lead of the night. He followed it with another very next possession. Even down by 11, the Purdue contingent remained loud and in the game as they made their majority known throughout State Farm Stadium.
Braden Garden guards Tristen Newton as the Husky tries to pass him
Leading 51-38 just before the under-12 media timeout, Hurley turned to the crowd to pump it up – only to see the Huskies’ foul problems continue – putting them in the bonus with 11:31 to play. Out of this timeout, Edey missed the start of the 1-and-1.
Matt Painter called a timeout after UConn put together a five-point swing on an Alex Karaban triple and a Hassan Diarra layup to give Connecticut a 56-40 lead. The blue and white half of the building screamed a chant as the Huskies aimed for greatness with 9:27 to play. Out of the timeout, Edey hit a layup to set up Purdue’s first basket in more than four and a half minutes. Clingan’s fourth foul led to the sub-8:00 media timeout, with the Bristol, Conn., native screaming and tearing off his undershirt in rage.
He called a timeout again after Johnson fouled and the Huskies were forced to transfer the 6-foot-8 Karaban to Edey with a nine-inch height disadvantage. Still, Purdue struggled to make shots. The under-four media timeout arrived and attendance of over 74,000 was announced – the third highest figure in the championship’s history.
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