Purdue basketball seeks its first national championship tonight when it takes on defending champ Connecticut in Glendale, Arizona. The Boilermakers (34-4) and Huskies (36-3) have been the favorites all season.
Purdue beat N.C. State 63-50 to reach the title game, while UConn beat Alabama 86-72, its narrowest winning margin in the tournament. The Boilermakers are led by senior center and two-time national player of the year Zach Edey, while the Huskies come at opponents in waves.
Sam King, Kyle Neddenriep and Gregg Doyel are courtside, and we will have updates and highlights here. Please remember to refresh.
Great hair day:How Gene Keady shows Purdue spirit for Final Four
Exchanging pleasantries:Edey, Hurley chat in first half of championship game
Out of nowhere:Watch Cam Heide throw down a highlight reel dunk
Final: UConn 75, Purdue 60
Purdue stays with UConn for the first 18 minutes but can't keep up the rest of the way as the Huskies apply pressure on all fronts in winning their second consecutive national championship.
Zach Edey, Purdue's career leader in points (2,516) and rebounds (1,321), has 37 and 10. Braden Smith scores 12 with 8 assists (Purdue's only assists). The rest of the Boilermakers score 11 points.
That's Purdue's lowest scoring output of the season and it loses the rebounding battle by 7. Purdue is 1-of-7 on 3-pointers and 11-of-15 on free throws.
Tristen Newton scores 20 with 7 assists for UConn, which won all its NCAA Tournament games by at least 14 points. Stephon Castle has 15 points. Cam Spencer has 11 points and 8 rebounds. Donovan Clingan has 11 points.
2:14 left 2H: UConn 69, Purdue 56
The Huskies remain methodical and trade free throws for Zach Edey baskets. There was also this odd UConn turnover.
4:52 left 2H: UConn 65, Purdue 49
UConn takes its time with possessions and Purdue can't make any headway.
7:52 left 2H: UConn 59, Purdue 42
Donovan Clingan has 4 fouls.Edey's short hook is Purdue's first field goal in 4 minutes.
9:27 left 2H: UConn 56, Purdue 40
Alex Karaban's 3 from the left corner followed by Hassan Diarra's layup give UConn its biggest lead.
11:31 left 2H: UConn 51, Purdue 38
Tristen Newton has 16 points, 4 assists; Cam Spencer has 9 points, 8 assists.
Zach Edey has 20 points, 7 rebounds; Purdue is 1-of-4 on 3-pointers for the game.
13:54 left 2H: UConn 47, Purdue 38
UConn's rebounding edge is up to 7.
Zach Edey hits 2 free throws, his first points in 11+ minutes.
Samson Johnson has alley-oop dunks on two straight plays, and UConn is up by double digits.
15:54 left 2H: UConn 43, Purdue 34
Donovan Clingan and Lance Jones have 3 fouls each.
Cam Heide throws down a mammoth putback dunk.
17:30 left 2H: UConn 41, Purdue 32
Zach Edey has missed a couple of point-blank shots early in the second half.
Tristen Newton hits a 3 off of an offensive rebound, and UConn has its biggest lead at 39-30.
Halftime: UConn 36, Purdue 30
Zach Edey has 16 points on 7-of-12shooting, with 5 rebounds and 2 blocked shots. Braden Smith has 9points (4-of-7shooting), 3 rebounds and 3 assists. The rest of the Boilers have 5 points.
Purdue is 1-of-2 on 3-pointers and 3-of-4 on free throws.
For UConn, Tristen Newton has 11 points, and Donovan Clingan, Cam Spencer and Hassas Diarra have 7 each. Diarra is the only bench player on either team to score.
UConn holds a slim rebounding edge, 16-15. Purdue has 5 turnovers, UConn 3.
Clark Kellogg noted UConn's backcourt has a 29-12 scoring edge: "If (Purdue) can't get better perimeter play in the second half, you can't win."
UConn has won 47 straight games when leading at halftime.
2:09 left 1H: UConn 32, Purdue 30
Braden Smith hits a ring wing 3 to give him 9 points. That's Purdue's first 3-pointer of the game.
3:49 left 1H: UConn 30, Purdue 25
Tristen Newton gets a backdoor layup, and UConn leads 30-25 after its 9-2 run.
Donovan Clingan gets the and-1 against Caleb Furst, and UConn leads 26-23.
6:50 left 1H: Purdue 23, UConn 23
Zach Edey gives Purdue a 23-21 lead. He has 14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer and Hassan Diarra have 7 each for UConn.
Players with 2 fouls: Lance Jones of Purdue, Hassan Diarra and Samson Johnson of UConn.
Braden Smith hits a runner from the left side to tie it at 21.
Hassan Diarra's 3 gives UConn the lead again.
Smith hits a runner from the right side to tie it at 18.
11:28 left 1H: UConn 18, Purdue 16
Mason Gillis is at the free throw line out of the timeout. Zach Edey has 11 straight Purdue points.
Hassan Diarra scores out of a broken play, putting UConn up 18-16.
13:00 left 1H: UConn 14, Purdue 13
Zach Edey has 8 points, 1 rebound and 2 blocked shots.
Tristen Newton hits a 3, and UConn is 2-of-5from deep.
Out of the timeout, Braden Smith tosses up an alley-oop for a Zach Edey slam to tie it at 11.
15:04 left 1H: UConn 11, Purdue 9
Cam Spencer has 7 points and 1 assist. He's working on Fletcher Loyer, who has 1 foul. Zach Edey has 4 points.
18:00 left 1H: Purdue 5, UConn 3
Lance Jones gets an and-1. UConn came into this game trailing for just 4:06 of game time all tournament.
Cam Spencer hits a 3 from the right wing.
Trey Kaufman-Renn scores the game's first points on a post-up.
Zach Edey can't get a clear shot against Donovan Clingan on Purdue's opening possession.
What channel is Purdue vs. UConn on?
TV: TBS/TruTV, with Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Bill Raftery and Grant Hill (analysis), and Tracy Wolfson (sideline reporting).
Radio:Purdue Sports Network(96.5 FM in Lafayette, 1260 AM in Indianapolis), with Rob Blackman (play-by-play) and Bobby Riddell (analysis).
Streaming: SiriusXM Channel 84.
Purdue's best players
(NCAA Tournament averages)
Zach Edey, 7-4 senior: 28 points, 15.4 rebounds, 1.8 blocked shots
Fletcher Loyer, 6-4 sophom*ore: 11.6 points, 2.8 assists, 50% 3-pointers
Braden Smith, 6-0 sophom*ore: 8.4 points, 34.8% 3-pointers, 8.8 assists, 6.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals
Lance Jones, 6-1 grad: 9.6 points, 39.3% 3s, 2.6 rebounds, 1.0 steals
Trey Kaufman-Renn, 6-9 junior: 8.8 points, 4.2 rebounds
Mason Gillis, 6-6 senior: 4.0 points, 40% 3s, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists
UConn's best players
Donovan Clingan, 7-2 sophom*ore: 16.2 points, 9 rebounds, 3.6 blocked shots, 1 steal
Cam Spencer, 6-4 grad: 13.8 points, 43.5% 3s, 6.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.0 steals
Tristen Newton, 6-5 freshman: 13.4 points, 7.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds
Stephon Castle, 6-6 freshman: 12.0 points, 5.8 rebounds
Alex Karaban, 6-8 junior: 10.6 points, 5.4 rebounds
Hassan Diarra, 6-2 senior: 6.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists
Has Purdue won a national championship?
No. The Boilermakers lost to UCLA in the 1969 championship game, and made the Final Four in 1980.
Has UConn won a national championship?
The Huskies won last year's championship, and are trying to be the first to repeat since Florida in 2006 and '07. Connecticut has won championships in 1999, 2004, '11, '14 and '23
Who is favored in the Final Four championship game?
via BetMGM
Favorite: UConn by 7.5 points
Over/under: 145.5 total points
Moneyline: Purdue +250, UConn -300
ESPN's matchup predictor says UConn has a 54.3% chance of winning.
