Sports Poets Society

Tristen Newton of the Huskies scored 20 points and was named most outstanding  player of the men's Final Four. Zach Edey of Purdue scored a game-high 37. PHOTO BY CHRISTIAN PETERSEN/GETTY IMAGES Connecticut caps dominant two-year run with a second title Huskies repeat in dominant fashion 9 Apr 2024 - The Washington Post BY CHUCK CULPEPPER If the NCAA men’s basketball tournament counts as one of the nation’s ultimate rodeos, then it just witnessed maybe the smoothest two-year case of bronco riding it ever saw. Coach Dan Hurley’s Connecticut Huskies spent Monday night finishing an unimaginable calming of the rambunctious event, becoming the first repeat national champion since Florida in 2006-07 and only the second since Duke in 1991-92. It parked a program little-known four decades ago way up high on the list at six national championships, in third place shoulder-to-shoulder with North Carolina. In its 75-60 win over an excellent Purdue whose shots started suffering against Connecti...

UConn became just the fourth program to have six or more national titles after winning it all in 2024. It's also the first back-to-back champion since Florida in 2006 and 2007.  Christian Petersen/Getty Images https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/insider/story/_/id/39901608/ranking-all-mens-ncaa-national-champions-including-2024-winner-uconn John Gasaway,  ESPN Insider - Apr 9, 2024, 08:45 AM ET UConn has achieved something truly exceptional with its 2024 men's national championship . Not only did the Huskies repeat as champions, they did so after losing three starters from last year's championship team. Indeed, many repeat champions of yesteryear benefited from a higher degree of roster continuity. So congratulations, Dan Hurley, on finding a different path to a successful title defense. Just where does UConn's 2024 team rank on the all-time list of men's national champions? We took a shot at coming up with an answer. Starting with Oregon in 1939 and goin...

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39904076/connecticut-huskies-cruise-sixth-ncaa-championship Jeff Borzello, ESPN Staff Writer Apr 8, 2024, 11:34 PM ET GLENDALE, Ariz. -- On paper, the plan wasn't working. Zach Edey had 14 points, the reigning Wooden Award winner was talking trash to Dan Hurley and the UConn bench, and Purdue led the Huskies with 8 minutes left in the first half. UConn had elected to guard Edey one-on-one with Donovan Clingan , essentially allowing him to score at will, while focusing most of their defensive attention on the Boilermakers' other players. Edey was dominating UConn's projected lottery pick center like nobody else had all season. But UConn, as it has done consistently over the past two years, stayed the course and trusted its game plan. Edey couldn't beat the Huskies by himself, and his teammates weren't doing much to help. The floodgates opened for UConn in the second half, and the Huskies ultimately beat Purdu...