The game began with each team holding the lead for short periods of time. After the score was tied at eleven points apiece, UConn took the lead on a shot by Tristen Newton, though later shots by Zach Edey and Braden Smith gave Purdue the lead with eight minutes left in the first half. Field goals afterwards by Newton, Donovan Clingan, and Stephon Castle resulted in a six-point UConn lead at halftime. The lead grew to nine points a short time into the second half and soon expanded to thirteen, though two shots by Edey brought it back to nine for a short time. UConn pulled away after shots by Alex Karaban and Hassan Diarra and the Huskies ultimately led by seventeen with under eight minutes to play. Later in the half, Purdue went on a run of six unanswered points which was ended with two free throws by Newton. Despite three field goals by Edey in the final minutes of the game, UConn's Clingan and Castle scored the final points of the game to make the final score 75–60 in favor of the Huskies.
UConn's victory marked their second consecutive national championship, making them the first team to do so since Florida did so in 2006 and 2007.
Purdue was seeded No. 1 in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament, where they defeated No. 16 Grambling State in the first round.[9] They beat No. 8 Utah State to make the Sweet Sixteen[10] and there defeated No. 5 Gonzaga.[11] The Boilermakers beat No. 2 Tennessee in the regional final, qualifying them for the Final Four for the first time since 1980.[12] In the national semifinal, they defeated the tournament's Cinderella team, No. 11 NC State, to reach the national championship[13] for the first time since 1969.[14]
UConn received the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament and defeated No. 16 Stetson and No. 8 Northwestern in the first and second rounds, respectively.[21][22] The Sweet Sixteen saw UConn defeat No. 5 San Diego State in a rematch of the 2023 national championship.[23] A win over No. 3 Illinois sent them to the Final Four,[24] where they defeated No. 4 Alabama to reach the national championship.[25]
Zach Edey(pictured) led all scorers with 37 points.
Purdue controlled the opening tip-off and scored the first points of the game on a jump shot by Trey Kaufman-Renn one minute later. The teams traded baskets for several minutes before UConn tied the game at five with a pair of free throws by Tristen Newton; a jumper by Cam Spencer shortly afterwards gave the Huskies their first lead. Field goals by Zach Edey, Donovan Clingan, and Spencer over the next few possessions led to another tie at 11–11 before a three-point shot by Newton put the Huskies ahead by three points. Edey and Hassan Diarra traded baskets, each making two from the floor, leading to a two-point UConn lead with twelve minutes remaining in the half. After a Braden Smith jumper, Diarra scored another three-pointer to return UConn to a three-point lead, though several shots by Edey and Smith put Purdue ahead 23–21 nearing eight minutes to play. UConn answered with five unanswered points from Newton and Clingan. The UConn lead jumped to five points on a layup by Newton and a jumper by Stephon Castle increased it to seven with three and a half minutes remaining. UConn maintained this lead for the remainder of the first half; another field goal by Castle with forty-nine seconds left was the last made shot before halftime. At the break, UConn led 36–30.[27]
UConn began the second half with possession and began the scoring through Newton; after shots by Kaufman-Renn and Castle, UConn's lead held at nine points. At the first TV timeout of the half, the Huskies led 43–34 and they expanded the lead to thirteen points shortly after on two dunks by Samson Johnson. Edey scored the game's next four points, followed by shots made by Spencer and Newton to restore the thirteen-point advantage. A Diarra foul with ten minutes to play gave Smith two free throws, which he made, but Alex Karaban's three-pointer and Diarra's jumper on UConn's next two possessions pushed their lead to sixteen points. At the media timeout with under eight minutes remaining in the game, UConn led by seventeen. Out of the timeout, each team went on a run of four straight points: first Purdue, then UConn, leaving the score 63–46. They traded shots over the next two minutes and UConn pushed the lead to eighteen points with under four minutes to play. Six straight points scored by the Boilermakers narrowed their deficit to thirteen points but two free throws by Newton ended the streak. Edey scored three dunks over the next minute but was unable to cut into the UConn lead due to scores by Clingan and Castle, the last of which made the score 75–60 in favor of the Huskies. This lead held for the final forty-five seconds of the game, allowing UConn to claim their second straight national championship.[27]
UConn's victory marked their sixth overall and second consecutive national championship, making them the first team to repeat as champions since Florida did so in 2006 and 2007. They were the first overall No. 1 seed to win the tournament since Louisville in 2013 (which was vacated). The title was the second for UConn head coach Dan Hurley; he joined John Wooden, Mike Krzyzewski, and Billy Donovan as the only coaches to have won back-to-back national championships.[14]
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