On Monday, April 8, 2024, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, the University of Connecticut Huskies defeated the Purdue Boilermakers to win back-to-back National Championship titles. With this win, UConn now has six national titles.
The National Championship game is the final game at the end of the March Madness tournament, where the winning team receives the highly coveted National Championship Trophy. All the teams fight hard for a chance to enter this competition in their divisional games throughout the year. The Huskies belong to the Big East Division, where they are the first seed with a record of 18-2 in their division and an overall record of 37-3.
During the first ten minutes, the University of Connecticut held a lead of just three points, the score being 21-18. By halftime, the Huskies extended their lead to six points, 36-30. After halftime, UConn stormed out of the locker room, and Tristen Newton, UConn’s star guard, made a deep three-pointer, extending the lead to nine. With ten minutes left in the second half, UConn had a commanding lead of fourteen. Purdue’s star Zach Edey scored an impressive 37 points and ten rebounds, but it was not enough since the Huskies took control of the rest of the game. The game ended with blue and white ribbons (UConn’s colors) falling from the top of the stadium, and the final score was 75-60.
This game was like deja vu for the Huskies, as they also won last year against San Diego State University with a similar score of 76-59. Tristen Newton scored similarly in both championship games, with 20 points against Purdue and 19 points against San Diego State University. Dan Hurley, the head coach of Uconn, also did the ceremonial net cutting as a sign of winning in both games. The Huskies chanted and cheered while they held their new trophy so the whole world could see.
The Connecticut Huskies are tied for 3rd with North Carolina, and six national championships have been won. Both schools are behind Kentucky with eight titles and UCLA with eleven titles.
Days after their glory, a few UConn players have decided to take their talent to the next level by declaring for the NBA. These players are stars Tristen Newton, Andre Jackson, and Donovan Clingan. Without these players who have won both national titles, the question arises whether Uconn can return to complete a three-peat.
Sources:
https://today.uconn.edu/2024/04/twice-as-nice/
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/39929419/uconn-center-donovan-clingan-entering-nba-draft
Main Pic:
https://today.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/TS1_5453_h6625uar_20240408090302-1024×647.jpg
