On April 8th, UConn men’s basketball won its 6th NCAA tournament championship title in a national title game against Purdue, with a final score of 75-60. This is the second consecutive win for the Huskies and their 6th national championship title overall.
The Huskies were up throughout the duration of the game, with a score of 36-30 by halftime. UConn continued to pull through during the second half, scoring another 39 points. Once the Huskies got a double-digit lead halfway through the second half, their confidence continued to build.
UConn won the game by 15 points after a close game during the first half. Although Purdue kept the pressure on the Huskies, UConn was able to pull through in the second half and enlarge the gap, successfully winning the game.
Since this was UConn’s second consecutive win, they became one of only 8 other teams that have achieved 2 back-to-back victories, with their win against San Diego State last season. This also marks the 6th overall men’s NCAA championship title for the Huskies.
Connecticut was the number 1 seed going into the NCAA tournament this year after coming in as a 4 seed last year, with Purdue being the number 3 seed.
Out of the 40 games UConn has played since November, they lost only 3, giving them a winning percentage of 92.5%. The Huskies now have the highest winning percentage of any Division I men’s Basketball team in the nation.
The Most Outstanding Player Award for the 2024 NCAA basketball tournament was given to UConn’s star player Tristen Newton. Newton just transferred to UConn during his junior year and made a large impact, averaging a total of 14.9 points and 6.2 assists per game this season.
Now Tristen Newton and other UConn athletes are preparing for the 2024 NBA draft on June 27. A total of 5 Huskies have a chance to be selected that day. Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle, Cam Spencer, Alex Karaban, and Tristen Newton could all hear their name called for the draft.
UConn as a whole has had great success the past 2 seasons, and are expected to continue this trend into the 2025 NCAA tournament next season, and possibly achieve a third consecutive win.
