2024 NCAA championship: Breaking down who has the edge in UConn vs. Purdue matchup

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The NCAA Tournament produced chaos, upsets and all the thrilling twists that make it one of the best events in all of sports. But in the end, all the madness couldn’t shake favorites Purdue or UConn out of the bracket. The pair of No. 1 seeds are squaring off for the national title on Monday night after dominating college basketball all season long.

The matchup between 7-foot-4 Purdue star Zach Edey and 7-foot-2 UConn center Donovan Clingan is the most anticipated individual battle of the season. The dueling giants patrol the paint with force and dominate games in unique ways. Edey is a ruthlessly efficient scorer, while Clingan is a shot-swatting defender and ubiquitous lob threat on offense.

But the nuances of this game go much deeper. Guard play will be critical, bench contributions will be magnified by the stakes and coaches face critical decisions. The entire college basketball season comes down to this. Only one team can hold the trophy. Either UConn will become the sport’s repeat national champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007 or Purdue will secure redemption after losing to a No. 16 seed in last year’s first round.

So as tipoff approaches Monday night, let’s take a look at the UConn-Purdue matchup and see who might have an edge — and where — in the 2024 national title game.

Backcourt

UConn: Tristen Newton, Cam Spencer and Stephon Castle
Purdue: Braden Smith, Lance Jones and Fletcher Loyer

Smith made significant strides as a sophomore and is Purdue’s second-leading scorer. But the 6-footer is averaging just 8.4 points on 37.2% shooting in the NCAA Tournament and coming off a rough showing against NC State. His counterpart, Newton, is a CBS Sports first-team All-American with five years of college basketball experience and a national title under his belt. Spencer is a lights-out 3-point shooter, and Castle is a likely lottery pick. Jones and Loyer are good players for the…

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Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/2024-ncaa-championship-breaking-down-who-has-the-edge-in-uconn-vs-purdue-matchup/

Author : David Cobb

Publish date : 2024-04-07 21:01:30

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