Coach Dan Hurley of the University of Connecticut loves to chuck up several half-court shots in the hopes of sinking at least one of them right before practices start. After hitting one, he sets up for second right away, pumping himself up with a question like, “Who’s the king of two-in-a-row?” His helpers answer, “You are,” before he unavoidably misses.

Hurley’s ability to make consecutive half-court shots is unlikely, thus his winning two consecutive national titles must be unbelievable – the basketball equivalent of Absolute Zero. As unlikely, inconceivable, and unexplainable as it may be, Dan Hurley, the King of Two-in-a-Row, now laughs at such odds.

Once more, Hurley has the big one. He became the first guy to win consecutive national titles on Monday night, since his mentor Billy Donovan at Florida in 2007.

In a historic national championship game, where UConn won her sixth title in 25 years to tie North Carolina for third most all-time, his Huskies defeated Zach Edey and the Purdue Boilermakers 75-60.

“UConn has been running college basketball for the last 25, 30 years,” Hurley declared triumphantly from the top of the platform in Arizona. Is there really any reason to reject that statement, given everything this school has accomplished since 1999?

UConn was crowned back-to-back NCAA champions after beating Purdue Monday night The Huskies toppled the Boilermakers 75-60 at State Farm Stadium in the title game Even with 37 points from Zach Edey, the Boilermakers were unable to stay up with the winners.Context is necessary to perform what Dan Hurley and the UConn Huskies just did. Think about the fact that the past three teams to win the championship again—the Florida Gators in 2006–07, the Duke Blue Devils in 1991–92, and the UCLA Bruins in 1972–73—all had at least four players return to the starting lineup from their championship seasons. 

With the loss of three starters to the NBA, UConn only returned Alex Karaban and Tristen Newton this season. And they improved despite all of that. They improved significantly. 

They achieved it by elevating Donovan Clingan, a native son, to starting center and adding players like Stephon Castle, a freshman, and transfer guard Cam Spencer. As of right now, this team is among the best in the sport’s history.

And that last triumph occurred in a contest between the seven-footers, Clingan of Connecticut at seven feet two inches and Edey of Purdue at seven feet four inches. Since Hakeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing’s 1984 match, this is the first time two players taller than seven feet have squared off in a national championship game.

Both players had never really played someone like them before, as evidenced by the way Clingan’s defense thwarted Edey’s opening shot. The next time he faced his opponent, the Boilermaker man prevailed. At the first under-16 timeout, honors were even with two makes and two misses.

During the following interval, Edey started to establish a more consistent rhythm, making it to eleven points with under eleven-and-a-half remaining. Hurley was observed berating Terry Oglesby, Roger Ayers, and Jeffrey Anderson, the officiating crew, for what he believed to be an obvious over-the-back foul committed by Edey. Supporters of Purdue started yelling for a technical, but Hurley was taken out by helpers.

Head coach Dan Hurley hoists up the trophy with his team behind him after their victory seven feet four During the next interval, Edey started to establish a more consistent rhythm.

Following the first less than eight-minute media stoppage, Clingan started to make more of an impact in the paint. With 3:49 remaining in the first half, he blocked two Edey attempts and scored four points himself to help Connecticut take a 30-25 lead.

Braden Smith of Purdue, who had not been playing well in the tournament until then, put up a quick spurt of points to close out the first half. Hurley, however, called a brilliant timeout that ended Purdue’s scoring drought and put the Huskies ahead 36–30 at the half’s conclusion. Later on, Smith’s performance would turn out to be a fleeting high point.

Edey missed his first three attempts after the half, and Purdue was down 7–4 at the first media break. Crucially, though, was Clingan’s third foul at that point, which forced a brief benching with the Huskies leading 43–34.

As a substitute, Samson Johnson scored his first basket of the contest, a lob slam over Edey to give UConn its first double-digit lead of the evening. The very next possession, he added another one. Purdue’s supporters demonstrated their dominance throughout State Farm Stadium by remaining upbeat and engaged throughout the entire 11-point deficit.

Hurley appealed to the crowd to get them excited, leading the Huskies to a 51-38 lead shortly before the under-12 media break. However, as the Huskies continued to commit fouls, they were thrown in the bonus with 11:31 left in the game. Edey failed to convert the first possession of the 1-and-1 after the timeout.

After UConn went up 56–40 thanks to a five-point outburst sparked by a triple from Alex Karaban and a layup from Hassan Diarra, Matt Painter opted for a timeout. With 9:27 remaining, the blue and white portion of the stadium let out a yell as the Huskies tried to win big. Following the timeout, Edey made a layup to mark Purdue’s first field goal in more than 45 minutes. 

Tristen Newton tries to dribble past Braden Garden as the Husky tries to block him. 

Although Edey wasn’t the problem, the Huskies acknowledged that their goal from the start was for the team to fall short of their expectations.

After the game, Final Four Most Outstanding Player Tristen Newton remarked, “We knew [Edey] was going to get his points.” “Just keep the guards to a minimum was the game plan.” Steph [Castle] and Cam entered there and did a fantastic job of limiting the guards and their effects.

Spencer stated, “I believe the coaches mentioned that if we could manage their 3-point shots, we’d be really locked in.” “I believe we were really focused on keeping those other guys out of the game and holding them to seven [3-point attempts].”   

Following his fourth foul, Clingan yelled and tore off his undershirt in a fit of passion, prompting the under-8:00 media timeout.

After Johnson fouled out and the Huskies were forced to switch to 6-foot-8 Karaban on Edey, who was nine inches taller than him, he called another timeout. Purdue still had trouble making shots. When the under-four media timeout aired, it was revealed that over 74,000 people had attended—the third-highest number in championship history.

The rest of the game proceeded like a formality. The final buzzer went off, Connecticut kept inbounding the ball, and Huskies fans kept yelling. With 37 points and ten rebounds at the end of the game, Edey more than fulfilled his role. However, the rest of Purdue had a dismal 9-29 performance that evening.

Edey embraces teammate Lance Jones to console him following their defeat in PhoenixHurley rejoices after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers and taking down the net. 

Spencer, one of four UConn players (along with Newton, Castle, and Clingan) selected to the All-Tournament team, transferred to Connecticut this summer.

He claimed that Hurley’s sales pitch, which focused entirely on the team and winning another title, did not include playing this well. This was the first championship I had ever participated in. During the recruiting process, Coach Hurley and I really discussed it.

Hurley grinned as he dismissed reports that he was leaving Storrs, the epicenter of college basketball once again, when it was his turn to respond to inquiries. “You should ask my wife that, she’ll give you a better answer,” the coach said.

A run like this might be tough to repeat given the state of college basketball today, especially since players frequently leave for the next big payday.

Hurley, though, is slow to declare his team and this run as distinct from the others due to the hand he was given. “I think you guys should probably decide that.” It’s a special run, obviously,’ the coach remarked. “We’re going to try to duplicate it again, I meаn s**t.” We will continue to operate under a championship mindset. 

We have some really talented freshmen in high school that we brought in and are bringing in. The player development process for our returning players will see a significant uptick, with a deliberate conclusion through the portal. 

With a sardonic smile, he declared, “I don’t think that we’re going anywhere,” officially ascending to the top of the college basketball ladder and being dubbed the King of Two-in-a-Row.