No. 1 seeds UConn and Purdue will square off in the NCAA Tournament men’s basketball championship game Monday night in Phoenix.
The Huskies and Boilermakers defeated No. 4 seed Alabama and No. 11 seed N.C. State, respectively, on Saturday in the Final Four.
UConn, the defending national champions, will look to become the first program since Florida in 2007 to win back-to-back titles. The Huskies have reached the championship five previous times, winning every matchup.
Purdue has not won an NCAA Tournament.
UConn opened as a 5.5 point favorite over Purdue on Monday night, according to DraftKings. The game total is set at 146.5.
UConn, the betting favorites entering the tournament, outlasted Alabama on Saturday thanks to a dominant performance down the stretch. The game was tied at 56 points each with 12:04 remaining before Dan Hurley’s squad took over. All five UConn starters scored in double figures, led by Stephon Castle’s 21 points.
Purdue cruised past N.C. State 63-50 after another big game from All-American center Zach Edey. The 7-foot-4 Canadian finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Boilermakers dominated on the inside. Purdue outrebounded its opponent 41-28 and also added 10 3-pointers.
The Boilermakers pulled away late in the second half, going on a 14-1 run with a little over four minutes remaining.
The NCAA men’s basketball championship game will take place Monday at 9:20 p.m. ET.
There's more where that came from
If you're craving more college hoops, you're in luck.
The women's NCAA championship game is tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET.
Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes will face the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.
And the men's championship will follow on Monday.
Women’s college basketball final expected to set new viewership records amid Caitlin Clark phenomenon
Tomorrow's NCAA Women’s Basketball National Championship is set to smash viewership records as star players and greater TV coverage drive more fans than ever to the sport.
The matchup between Iowa and South Carolina, both No. 1 seeds, is slated for 3 p.m. Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland.
Friday night’s matchup between Iowa and No. 3 seed UConn was the most-watched women’s college basketball game ever, and broke ESPN’s record as the most-watched basketball game in the network’s history, college or pro, with 14.2 million viewers and a peak of 17 million.
Sears and Castle lead in scoring
Mark Sears with the Crimson Tide led the game with the most points overall: 24.
And Stephon Castle led UConn with 21 points.
The Huskies cover the spread
UConn was given a game by Alabama, but the Huskies still covered the gametime spread of 11.5 points, winning 86-72.
The game total under 160.5 narrowly cashes as well.
UConn celebrates victory over Alabama
Tune in to NBC Sports’ Bet the Edge for championship preview
Jay Croucher and Drew Dinsick will preview the national championship Monday on NBC Sports’ Bet the Edge at 6 a.m. ET right here or wherever you get your podcasts.
UConn favored to win it all
The National Championship is set. The top seeds in the entire tournament will meet Monday night in Glendale, Arizona.
DraftKings has posted UConn as a 5.5 point favorite over Purdue with the game total set at 146.5.
Purdue will be gunning for its first national championship while UConn will be going for their sixth. The Huskies are 5-0 in national championship games.
UConn proves its Final Four chops once again
UConn improves to 6-1 in seven all time appearances in the Final Four. Despite the game's back-and-forth feeling, tonight’s victory ends up as UConn’s largest Final Four victory in program history by point spread, 14. That’s one point larger than the Huskies Final Four victory last year over Miami (72-59).
UConn has never lost a national championship game, and faces off against Purdue on Monday for a chance at the program’s sixth title, all since 1999.
UConn pulls off the win, 86-72
The Huskies are headed to the championship game, making a run for back-to-back trophies.
They’ll face Purdue in a battle of the one-seeds on Monday night.
Tonight's win means UConn is now 6-1 all time in Final Four games. In the five other times they've made it to the championship, they've won every time.
Crimson Tide can't keep up with Huskies on the boards
In the midst of an already prolonged offensive slump, Alabama's attack has been further hampered by the Crimson Tide’s second-half struggles in the rebounding battle.
Other than forward Grant Nelson’s admirable efforts, Alabama has seemingly been out-jumped for every 50-50 ball on both the offensive and defensive boards. Nelson has 12 rebounds alone — as part of a double-double — but the rest of Alabama has just 14 boards, and UConn is out-rebounding the Crimson Tide 35-26 with four minutes left in the second half.