Connecticut has blown through the NCAA Tournament again to reach college basketball's final night, this time with a chance to claim the men's game's first repeat championship in 17 years. The final test is facing a Purdue team that spent an entire season proving it had recovered from one of the rarest of NCAA Tournament upsets.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Connecticut has blown through the NCAA Tournament again to reach college basketball's final night, this time with a chance to claim the men's game's first repeat championship in 17 years.
“It speaks to the credit of what the coaching staff does — they've constructed a beautiful team, as we see,” forward Alex Karaban said. UConn entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in KenPom's adjusted offensive efficiency by averaging 126.6 points per 100 possessions, while its defense ranked 11th at 94.4 points allowed per 100 possessions. Purdue was ranked fourth offensively and 21st defensively .
“It’s a great feeling,” AP All-American guard Tristen Newton said. “Like you said, not many teams can do this. But we feel like we can make history and win the whole thing." Only one other team had faced that challenge: Virginia, which lost to UMBC in 2018. That team went on to win the program's first NCAA title a year later as a No. 1 seed.“It’s everything we’ve worked for, everything we thought about,” guard Fletcher Loyer said."A lot of late nights, can’t even sleep because you’re thinking about it.
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