National Championship Preview

The day has finally come, March Madness wraps up tonight and a champion will be crowned. Somehow, some way, the two teams that have been regarded as the best all year have managed to make it all the way to the end. It's the reigning national champions against last year's disaster first round team: UConn vs. Purdue.

No matter who wins, we'll witness history. If UConn pulls out a win, they'll be the first repeat champion since the Florida Gators did it back in '07 and '08. If Purdue wins, they become the second team to ever lose as a one-seed in the first round and come back the next year to win the tournament. It will be a battle of the big men, and the game should be close the whole way.

Let's look at how these teams got here. UConn had dominant regular season, losing just three games to secure the one-seed in the east region. They cruised to the Final Four, dominating each matchup until they had a real test against a talented and well-coached Alabama team. They showed that they can step up in crunch time, keeping Bama scoreless in the final minutes of the game to secure the victory.

Their team is built around seven-footer Donovan Clingan. His ability to win matchups in the post and find the open man when the defenses collapse for double teams is crucial for the Huskies. Up until tonight's matchup, Clingan has had a massive size advantage over other teams. Tonight, he'll have to match up against another seven-footer in this year's player of the year Zach Edey.

Edey is an interesting case. He's seven-four and has real post moves but isn't as athletic as many scouts and NBA analysts would like. He doesn't have much of a jump shot and won't be spending any time on the perimeter during offensive possessions, but he does shoot incredibly well from the free throw line, sitting over 70 percent on the year.

In college and the NBA, seven-footers like Edey are constantly fouled to force them to shoot free throws instead of easy layups. For most centers, they rarely hit both free throws at a constant clip, but Edey excels at this. On the flip side for UConn, although Clingan isn't a deadly shooter, he's able to step out closer to the perimeter and make jump shots when needed, but shoots his free-throws at just over 60 percent, considerably worse than Edey.

Purdue has dominated so far in this tournament just like UConn. They've won by double digits in all but one game this tournament. They don't have as deep of a bench as UConn, but they still have players who can get it done.

Supporting players will play a huge role tonight. UConn has the edge in this category in my opinion. All starters scored 12+ points in their recent game against Alabama, and they'll send more players to the NBA this offseason than Purdue. They also are more efficient on offense in terms of shot selection and field goal percentage.

UConn also has experience. Three of their five starters were all in the exact same position last year and won the National Championship game. They'll feel the nerves as much as Purdue no doubt, but they'll be able to draw back on their experience from last year and be able to turn that into confidence.

Lastly, we have to look at the coaching battle. Dan Hurley has revamped the UConn basketball program and inspires his players unlike any college coach I've seen this year. He won the championship last year with his players and he knows the formula to get it done. He won the Naismith Coach of the Year award this year and will be a massive target for other programs to hire if he decides it's time to move on from the Huskies after this season. He likes to play fast and build on momentum during games. His favorite aspect of his basketball players? Toughness. UConn will not be soft against Purdue and expect them to be physical all night.

Matt Painter has been Purdue's head coach for nearly two decades. He knows the ins and outs of college basketball and has won nearly everything you can win besides a national championship, including an international gold medal. He won the coach of the year award back in 2019 after leading the Boilermakers to the final four. Win or lose, he's one of the all-time great coaches in college basketball history.

It's hard to pick a winner between these two, but I'll be rooting for the Huskies to repeat. They'll go on a late run to pull out the win in a close game. We'll see what really goes on tonight, but I'm just happy to have such a great matchup this year for the championship game. I'll be back Friday to talk about the game and see what else is going on in the world of sports.

John Stanley

Content Writer