UConn will face off against Purdue in the national championship to close the NCAA Tournament on Monday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale.
The Huskies hope to become the first team with back-to-back championships since Florida won in 2006 and 2007. The Final Four win gave UConn its 11th straight tournament win, all coming by at least 13 points.
The Boilermakers are looking for full redemption after falling to 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round of the 2023 tournament. Virginia in 2018, the last team to lose to a 16-seed, also went on to win the championship in the following tournament.
UConn and Purdue are the top two overall seeds in the tournament field, with the reigning champs holding the top spot.
Time and TV channel for UConn vs. Purdue in the national championship
The tip-off time for UConn against Purdue is on Monday at 6:20 p.m. on TBS, TNT and truTV.
In the semifinal round, UConn topped Alabama by a score of 86-72 and Purdue notched a 63-50 victory over 11-seed NC State.
UConn faced its toughest challenge of the tournament yet, squeaking by the Crimson Tide by 14 points after winning by 39, 17, 30 and 25 points in prior games. UConn’s projected lottery picks in the 2024 NBA Draft, Donovan Clingan and Stephon Castle, helped lead the Huskies out of a hole dug by an eight-for-11 effort from 3 for Alabama in the first half.
Tracy Wolfson stood on a ladder to talk with Donovan Clingan postgame 🤣#MarchMadness @UConnMBB pic.twitter.com/5lQBLG9bkE
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 7, 2024
Purdue was once again led by back-to-back National Player of the Year honoree Zach Edey, whose 20-point, 12-rebound effort gave him his eighth-straight double double with at least 20 points.
“This is the one I’ve been talking about for 4 years now.”@BoilerBall‘s Zach Edey has his sights set on Monday night’s National Championship game. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/fzcaP0gnho
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 7, 2024
In addition to the two teams ranking first and second in overall seeds, UConn and Purdue are also first and second, respectively, in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency margin, a catch-all advanced metric akin to net rating in the NBA.
UConn is the lone team in the country to rank in the top-five of both offensive and defensive metrics on KenPom, with fourth-ranked defense complementing its top-ranked offense. Purdue is third in offense and 12th in defense.
In addition to searching for its second title in a row, UConn is hoping to capture its sixth title in the last 25 years with the program earning its first ever in 1999 and winning four others since then.
Purdue has never won the tournament and has only been to the championship game one time before (1969).
UConn has a 15-3 record in quad one games and last lost to Creighton on Feb. 20, the only Huskies loss this calendar year.
Purdue is 15-4 in quad one matchups with its last loss coming to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament on March 16.