UConn is one win away from back-to-back national championships.
The only thing standing between UConn and the first back-to-back championship in men’s college basketball since 2007 is 7-foot-4 Zach Edey. Quite the obstacle to overcome for Dan Hurley’s squad.
Much like the women’s national championship — which featured the game’s best player going against the game’s best team — the men’s side is also a meeting between the Naismith Player of the Year and the No. 1 team in the country.
A 6.5-point underdog like Iowa, Edey and Purdue are hoping for a different result Monday than what Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes suffered against South Carolina. I’m not optimistic about their chances.
Though Purdue and UConn both are undefeated against the spread this tournament, each doing so as a 1-seed, the Huskies did it while facing an average spread of 14 points, which was three more than Purdue. Dominant in every way, their closest game through five rounds was Saturday’s 14-point win over Alabama.
If there’s one player who can make it tough to finish the job, it’s Edey, who’s averaging 28 points and 15 rebounds through the tournament. But it helps that UConn has its own 7-foot-2 big man to at least make life a little more difficult.
Sophomore Donovan Clingan has elevated his game in the tournament, averaging 16.2 points, nine rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game. He won’t likely win his matchup with Edey, but he’ll keep it close enough that UConn’s decided advantage everywhere else will prove too much for one man to overcome. Especially on the perimeter where Purdue won’t likely have an answer for seniors Tristen Newton and Cam Spencer and freshman Stephon Castle.
That depth is why I favor the Huskies prevail and cover.
Prediction: UConn 75, Purdue 67
