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UConn on Monday night handled Purdue after South Carolina took down Iowa on Sunday. The Huskies and Gamecocks can now hang another title banner in their respective venues.
UConn handled Purdue with relative ease, especially in the second half, and became the first program to go back-to-back since Florida in 2006 and 2007. The 75-60 victory gave the Huskies their 6th title as they improved to 6-0 in NCAA championship games.
South Carolina handed Iowa a second straight championship game defeat while limiting Caitlin Clark to 12 points after an incredible 18-point first period flurry. The 87-75 victory capped an undefeated season (38-0) with a third championship banner under Dawn Staley since the 2016-17 season.
It didn't take long for odds to be posted on winning the next men's championship, even though no one knows those pesky little details such as who will actually be playing, coaching, etc. The 2024-25 NCAA Men's Odds at FanDuel.com actually have Duke (+1100) at the top of the list, followed by Kansas (+1200). UConn (+1500) shows up in a four-way tie with Alabama, North Carolina and Houston.
For the women, several Caitlin Clark WNBA prop bets have been posted.
The season was remarkable for both title-winners. UConn lost 8 players from last year's team, and ESPN points out that South Carolina is the first team since at least 2000 to win a title after returning none of its primary starters from a team that reached the Final Four the previous season.
The Women’s Championship captured 18.7 million viewers on ABC & ESPN, and peaked at 24 Million, making it the second-most watched non-Olympic women’s sports event falling only behind the 2015 Women’s World Cup Final.
UConn won the tournaments the over-all No.1 seed. That hadn't appended Louisville turned the trick in 2013. The repeat championship game win gave the Huskies a school record 37 wins on the season (37-3). They are now just the third program since 1973 to win consecutive crowns. UConn has now 12 straight NCAA Tournament games.
Tristen Newton was named the 'most outstanding player' as he became the first to score 20 points, collect at least five rebounds (7) and dish out at least five assists (5) without a turnover in an NCAA Championship game. Against Purdue, Newton was 2-of-5 from behind the arc and hit 6-of-6 from the free throw line as he tallied 20 points.
The game was back-and-forth tussle in the first half, but UConn managed to open a 36-30 halftime lead. The Huskies came out strong after the break and quickly extended their advantage to 11 in less than 5 minutes as they outscored the Boilermakers 9-4 during the stretch. UConn gained its largest lead at 65-47 with just 5:12 to play.
Despite having the 7'4" player of the year, Zach Edey under the rim, Purdue was outrebounded 35-28.
CollegeFootballPoll.com attributes this article on the UConn athletics site as a source of some of the information in this article.
Most outstanding player Kamilla Cardoso's double-double featured a career-high 17 rebounds (10 defensive and 7 offensive) while adding 15 points and 3 blocks. Raven Johnson, who only shot 1-11, was instrumental in cooling down Caitlin Clark from scoring and assisting as she was held to 12 points after the defensive switch was made and only had 6 assists for the game. Tessa Johnson scored 19 off the bench for victors.
South Carolina won the battle of the boards with ease, 51-29.
Dawn Staley took a moment after the game to compliment Clark on her outstanding collegiate career that included setting a new record in all of NCAA Division 1 history with 3,951 as she surpassed Pete Maravich's 3,667.
“I personally want to thank Caitlin Clark for lifting up our sport. She carried a heavy load for our sport,” Staley said. “She’s going to lift that league (WNBA) up as well. Caitlin Clark if you’re out there you’re one of the GOATs of our game. We appreciate you.”
As for Cardoso, Staley said, "(She) was not going to let us lose a game in the NCAA Tournament,” Staley said. “She played through an injury, she played like one of the top picks in the WNBA draft.”
Clark remains the No.1 WNBA prospect with Stanford Cameron Brink at No. 2.
The rest of the women's basketball world already knows who the favorite will be to win next year's tournament because Staley gets most of the team back, minus the 6' 7" Cardoso who moved up to No. 3 on most WNBA mock draft boards after her performance. Six players on the South Carolina squad were underclassmen, including Tessa Johnson and MiLaysia Fulwiley who were just freshmen. As many as ten players could return, depending on developments in the transfer portal.
South Carolina actually trailed 46-44 in the first half before closing going on an 11-0 run that bridged halftime to stake-out a 55-46 lead, but Iowa pulled to within 59-55. Iowa's momentum, however, was lost on a missed open layup on a beautiful assist from Clark. After that play, the Gamecocks went on a 8-0 tear.
Iowa still fought back to within 80-75 with 4:12 to play, but was held scoreless the rest of the game.
CollegeFootballPoll.com attributes this article on the South Carolina athletics site as a source of some of the information in this article.