GLENDALE, ARIZONA – APRIL 06: Donovan Clingan #32 and Hassan Diarra #10 of the Connecticut Huskies react in the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at State Farm Stadium on April 06, 2024 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
No. 1 Purdue 63, No. 11 NC State 50
Zach Edey didn’t overwhelm NC State on Sunday. He didn’t need to.
Purdue’s shot makers made plays while its defense flustered a previously hot NC State attack in a 63-50 Final Four victory. Edey did plenty of damage along the way in a 20-point, 12-rebound effort.
The win secures a spot in Monday’s national championship for Purdue while ending NC State’s magical March run. The Wolfpack won nine straight ACC and NCAA tournament elimination games en route to its spot in the Final Four as an 11 seed. There, Purdue proved too tall of a task.
Read Jason Owens’ full recap right here.
No. 1 UConn 86, No. 4 Alabama 72
UConn is a win away from back-to-back national championships.
The Huskies pulled away from a pesky Alabama team late in the second half of their Final Four matchup on Saturday to dispatch the Crimson Tide 86-72 and set up a meeting with Purdue for the national title on Monday.
UConn led by four at halftime and didn’t incinerate the Tide after halftime like it did Illinois in the Elite Eight. Instead, UConn weathered multiple pushes by the Crimson Tide at the start of the second half before Alabama’s 3-point shooting regressed to the mean.
Read Nick Bromberg’s full recap right here.
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Final: UConn 86, Alabama 72
The Huskies are moving on to play Purdue in the national championship on Monday night. Stephon Castle led the way with 21 points and 5 rebounds.
UConn will play Purdue for its sixth national championship. The Huskies are 5-0 in their previous title game appearances, all of them since 1999. A modern-day dynasty, indeed.
Stephon Castle’s 21 points are the third-most by a freshman in the Final Four in the last 40 years. Pretty good company here. Only Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose scored more. He’s just ahead of Paolo Banchero and Mike Bibby.
The Huskies shot 50% from the floor, 40% (10 of 25) from 3 and won the rebound margin, 37-29. They assisted on 20 of their 31 made field goals and turned the ball over just four times. It was a nearly flawless victory against a game Alabama team.
All five UConn starters scored in double figures. Freshman star Stephon Castle paced the effort with 21 points, five rebounds and two assists. Donovan Clingan added 18 points, five rebounds and four blocks. He scored two emphatic dunks as the Huskies put the game away in the final minutes.
UConn saw its toughest test of the tournament Saturday and walked away with an 86-72 win. The margin doesn’t reflect the close nature of the game, but the Huskies ran away in the final two minutes.
UConn will face Purdue on Monday for the NCAA championship.
Brilliant pick and roll and bounce pass from Tristen Newton leads to a Donovan Clingan dunk. UConn can feel it at this point, leading 78-68 under 2 minutes.
Alex Karaban has been sensational on both sides of the court. A big 3 from the UConn forward extends the Huskies’ lead to 76-65.
UConn leads, 73-63 at the final TV timeout. Bama pulling this out at this point against the reigning champs would be an all-timer.
Dan Hurley pulled Castle after his fourth. Is it a mistake 6-plus minutes from a potential berth in the national championship?
UConn’s Stephon Castle just picked up his fourth foul on a moving screen with 6:30 remaining. Huskies lead 69-61.
UConn leads Alabama 67-61 at the under-8 timeout. Mark Sears has scored the last five points for Alabama as they try to climb the UConn mountain for the fourth time this half.
Alabama went 3:31 without scoring before finally cutting UConn’s lead to six with 9:10 to go
UConn responds to Alabama’s second 7-0 run with an 8-0 run. This is quite the second half so far. Huskies lead 64-56 after Alabama had gotten the game tied at 56-56.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Alabama has achieved something that none of UConn’s previous NCAA tournament opponents have: Putting actual second-half game pressure on the Huskies.
Grant Nelson’s baby hook in the lane capped a 9-1 Alabama surge and tied the score at 56 with just over 12 minutes remaining.
Alabama has its second 7-0 run of the second half and has cut UConn’s lead to one again.
Alabama cut UConn’s lead to 48-47 … and the Huskies now lead 55-47 with 15:31 to go. Each team has had a pair of 7-0 runs already this half.
Mark Sears picks up his third foul as Alabama cuts what was an 8-point UConn lead to one.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — UConn may yet unleash a killshot, but credit Alabama’s Mark Sears for staving it off until at least the second half.
Sears hit two big shots to keep Alabama breathing, the first a corner 3-pointer to halt a UConn surge and the second a twisting scoop shot in the lane to close the halftime gap to four.
Sears leads Alabama with 11 points and is one of five Crimson Tide players to have hit a 3-pointer. Alabama may need to duplicate its 8-for-11 first-half 3-point shooting in the second half to make this a game down the stretch.
