The 2024 national championship could be one for the ages on Monday night outside Phoenix as No. 1 seed Purdue looks to keep fellow No. 1 seed UConn from becoming the first team to repeat since Florida in 2007. The Huskies, though, are solid favorites to cut down the nets again.

Purdue leads the all-time series vs. UConn 2-1, dating back to 1988. The Huskies won the most recent meeting against the Boilermakers, winning 72-60 in the Sweet 16 round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

Purdue Boilermakers vs. UConn Huskies 2024 NCAA Men’s National Championship Game Information

THE #NATIONALCHAMPIONSHIP IS SET

WHO YA GOT? #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/TUCmCurk9w

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 7, 2024

• When: Monday, April 8th, 2024 at 9:20 pm ET
• Where: State Farm Stadium, Glendale, AZ
• TV: TBS
• Radio: WAZY 96.5 FM (Purdue) // 1290 AM KCUB (UConn)
• Live Stream: March Madness Live
• NCAAB Betting Odds: Purdue (+6.5) // UConn (-6.5)

Why Bet on the Purdue Boilermakers?

Purdue (34-4) might not be as good as UConn, but the Boilers have a generational talent in two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey, who will be playing his final collegiate game Monday. In the 63-50 win over No. 11 seed NC State in the Final Four, Edey had 20 points and 12 rebounds and played all 40 minutes. While Edey slowed down in the second half, the energy NC State expended as it attempted to corral him drained the Wolfpack, which started 1-for-10 from the field after halftime.

Taking advantage of the Wolfpack’s fatigue, Purdue’s Lance Jones finished with 14 points (4-for-9 on 3-pointers) and Fletcher Loyer added 11 points (3-for-5 beyond the arc), as NC State realized it couldn’t guard Edey and address the four other players on the court at the same time. The Boilers are in the national title game for the first time since 1969.

“I think, obviously, he’s our pillar, the guy we work around in what we do,” Coach Matt Painter said of Edey. “But it’s not something from an attention-seeking [standpoint] that I think he likes. He’s gotten more comfortable answering questions and getting that kind of attention. At the end of the day, he just wants it to be a team game. He wants the attention to go to everybody. He does a great job of facilitating that, being humble. That’s refreshing. Who doesn’t want to play with a great player, but also a great player that’s unselfish and humble, like he is?”

The Boilermakers have been in the top three in 3-point shooting all season, after spending the 2022-23 campaign as one of the worst Power 5 teams from beyond the arc (276th). They’re also in the top 15 in adjusted defensive efficiency, another double-digit improvement from last season. Remember, Purdue was a No. 1 seed last year when it was knocked off in Round 1 by No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson.

Edey is one of seven players in NCAA history to tally at least 925 points and 450 rebounds in a season, ranking third in Purdue history in points and first in rebounds in a season. He is already the first one to add 50 assists and 50 blocked shots to the total. Edey leads the country in 30–10 games with nine (next closest is 3) and 20–10 games with 25.

“[It’s] what we’ve been talking about all year,” said Edey of that 2023 first-round loss. “The reason I came back is [to play in] games like this. The reason I’m playing college basketball for four years — to finally get this game, it’s big time. We’ve obviously got to keep going and keep playing.”

Why Bet on the UConn Huskies?

UConn has now won a record 11 straight NCAA Tournament games by double digits after beating No. 4 Alabama 86-72 in the Final Four. After UConn trailed for just 28 seconds in its first four games of this year’s NCAA tournament, Alabama led the Huskies for almost five minutes in the first half of Saturday’s game. UConn also faced its largest deficit of the tournament when the Tide opened up a 23-18 lead with 11:09 remaining in the first half.

One of the nation’s best defenses flexed at just the right time, holding the Tide without a field goal for a game-turning five-minute stretch that put UConn on the cusp of becoming the first repeat champion since Florida in 2006-07.

“Our identity is to be pretty relentless,” coach Dan Hurley said. “We might not break you for 18 minutes, 25 minutes, but at some point if what we’re doing at both ends and on the backboard is at a high level, it just becomes hard for the other team to sustain it.”

Connecticut improved to 11-1 all-time in the Final Four with the win and advanced to its sixth national championship game. All five starters scored in double-figures in support of freshman Stephon Castle’s team-high 21, as the Huskies shot 50.0 percent from the field and 40.0 percent from 3-point range in the win.

Donovan Clingan scored 18 points to go with five rebounds and four blocks in the triumph, while Alex Karaban and Cam Spencer each finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Tristen Newton was the fifth in double-figures and narrowly missed a double-double with 12 points and nine assists. The Huskies finished with a 37-29 rebounding edge and out-scored the Tide 38-26 in the paint. Connecticut dished out 20 assists against only four turnovers. UConn turned 12 offensive rebounds into an 18-14 edge in second chance points.

Purdue vs. UConn Betting Trends

• Purdue is 5-0 ATS in the last 5 games.
• Boilermakers are 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
• The total went under in 4 of Purdue’s last 5 games.
• UConn is 6-0 ATS in the last 6 games.
• Huskies are 10-0 SU in its last 10 games.
• The total went under in 6 of UConn’s last 6 games.

Purdue vs. UConn 2024 NCAA Men’s National Championship Expert Prediction

Purdue takes the win and wins the 2024 NCAA Men’s National Championship.

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