Off an Edey miss, Purdue forward Camden Heide came flying in for a put-back dunk.

That was Heide’s first bucket of the evening, and it came at a good time — keeping Purdue's deficit manageable.

STORRS, Conn. — Precautions were in place today at the University of Connecticut to prevent a repeat of the violence and vandalism that marred the celebrations of the school’s 2023 NCAA men’s basketball championship.

In advance of the Final Four, the school removed the aluminum light posts along Hillside Road, the main thoroughfare through the center of campus, and replaced them with temporary recessed lighting.

The school also has limited the size of the campus watch party planned for tonight’s title game against Purdue. Only 6,700 students, all of whom won tickets to the event through a lottery, will be allowed inside Gampel Pavilion for the event, and they all will be seated in the upper bowl of the 10,000-seat arena.

Unlike last year, the general public will not be allowed into the arena, and no alcohol will be sold during the event, school spokesman Mike Enright said.

A total of 39 people were arrested after celebrants broke windows, overturned vehicles and even used a light post to ram a door at the student union after the Huskies’ win over San Diego State last April.

Edey played a major role in the story of the first half, as the senior center contributed more than half of his team's points and five rebounds.

But potentially more notable so far is his game-changing shot-altering ability. Edey has a couple of blocks. (He initially appeared to have three, but one was taken away from the box score.)

The all-time NCAA title game record for blocks is six, shared by Joakim Noah (2006) and Anthony Davis (2012).

UConn is 45-0 when leading at halftime. It leads 36-30 after 20 minutes. The Huskies are now laying 8.5 points with the game total at 140.5 points. 

The Huskies cover the first-half spread of 3.5 points, and the under-68.5 first-half total points cashes.

Hall of Fame men’s college basketball coach John Calipari is finalizing a deal to leave Kentucky for Arkansas, according to multiple reports.

He has led the Wildcats to seven Elite Eights, four Final Fours and the 2012 national championship. 

ESPN was the first to report the news.

Calipari, 65, is 410-123 over 15 seasons in Lexington. He was under contract through the 2028-29 season but will not owe the program a buyout for leaving early. He would have been owed $33 million if he were fired by the university.

Read the full story here.  

With the championship game halfway over, the UConn Huskies are leading Purdue 36-30.

Tristen Newton has 11 points for UConn.

Edey is the leading scorer for the Boilermakers, with 16.

“I really like the pace of the game," UConn's coach said at halftime. "The pace of the game favors us a little bit. We’re forcing them to play a little faster than they are used to.”

With so much attention on the big men in the paint, the winner may be the team that shoots it best from deep.

Purdue was the country’s second-best 3-point shooting team during the regular season, hitting nearly 46% of its shots from the arc. The Boilermakers hit 10 3-pointers against N.C. State in the Final Four but went 3 for 15 against Tennessee in the Elite Eight.

Purdue will need a bounce-back from point guard Braden Smith, who was frustrated after he went 1 for 9 — 1 for 5 from 3 — in the national semifinals.

UConn isn’t nearly as proficient from the arc, but it has two players who can create their own shots in Tristen Newton and freshman Stephon Castle.

Newton is a first-team AP All-American and the Huskies’ leading scorer, at 14.3 points per game. Castle, the only five-star recruit in the Final Four, hasn’t shied away from the spotlight, leading UConn with 21 points against Alabama.

UConn has weathered the storm of Edey’s early 16-point, 5-rebound first half by spreading its offense around effectively. Four Huskies have seven or more points already, led by senior guard Tristen Newton, who has nine. Newton, who was named a first-team All-American by the AP, led UConn in scoring during the season with 14.9 points per game.