Men's NCAA title game
 

Well sports fans, it's Purdue against UConn. Who do you have? I live in Big 10
country, and still think UConn is the juggernaut here. Hard to believe a team
with a 7'4" returning POY is an underdog; however, it seems to be the case.

Trent King

Here in CT, all we really have is the UCONN Basketball teams, so that’s where my allegiance lies. I thought Alabama really gave them a scare last night, despite the final score. UCONN just wore them down with their size and athleticism at the end.

Looking forward to Clingan vs. Edey. Clingan is a special player, I hope he can stay healthy for his next journey in the NBA. He could be a future Defensive Player Of The Year candidate. He’s super athletic for his size. I think Edey is under-rated by NBA scouts. He’s not the most athletic big guy, but his touch is impressive around the basket. Should be a battle.

Guard play will probably ultimately decide the game however. UCONN will have to win on defense, rebounding and turnovers, since they aren’t a really great shooting team, even though they are capable of going on big runs from time to time.

NCAA title game
 

NCAA Men's final went as I expected last night. Purdue has the player who
will be drafted first, then the next 6/7 best were all wearing UConn unis.
Best team won.

Trent King

Edey was the best player on the floor last night, but just about every draft board I have seen, have both Clingan and Castle being drafted far ahead of Edey.

Edey would have likely been a Top 3 pick 15-20 years ago or so, but not in today's NBA.

That's why I thought he was being under-rated. He reminds me a bit of Yao Ming. A bit plodding maybe, but I think has the finesse skills to make a difference offensively, above the rim, even from several feet out. As big as he is, he still might actually be a liability defensively, the next level up, unless he greatly improves his positioning and footwork on that end.

The players I would have considered the 2nd and 3rd best players on the floor last night (Tristan Newton and Cam Spencer), likely aren't bonafide NBA prospects at all. They are however, highly experienced college players, who happened to be more savvy and polished then most of the younger players they were playing with/against.

Ncaa
 

Dave- my apologies. I should simply have said Purdue had the best player,
and that's it. The point is that it was basically 5 v 1. Edey must have felt a
bit like Wilt did, I would say:)

Trent King

No apologies necessary. Just happy to talk about UCONN and the tournament a bit. :D

Edey was amazing, and I think this game might have helped his draft stock a bit.

I was super-impressed how he was able to get both of UCONN's big men in foul trouble.

I think one of the biggest concerns about Edey is big fish, small pond syndrome. He was never really tested one on one on the interior, with anybody his size, or at least close to his size.

I think Clingan will be an elite defender in the NBA, and he is known specifically for being a banger who doesn't get into foul trouble because of his positioning and quickness. Edey figured Clingan out somehow.

Luckily UCONN had another bigger body in Samson Johnson to swallow up some of those fouls, and keep UCONN from having to double-team Edey with smaller guys.

Unfortunately for Purdue, they couldn't figure out UCONN's perimeter defense, which made them settle for contested 2's and missed 3's.

Parallels
 

Womens Final and Mens Final..... the two best players made it to the final game only to lose to the 2 best teams. Nuff ced.

Funny how that worked in both tournaments

A great example, especially to kids and students - the team is the thing!

In this day and age of NIL, I love seeing complete teams like UConn and South Carolina be the victor over the star led team.

Even Michael Jordan didn't win it all until he got Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant and a deeper bench.