Both Saturday’s semifinal favorites, UConn and Purdue, won to advance to Monday’s championship game and the Huskies are favored by 6.5 points at BetMGM.
The final between the two No. 1 seeds will take place at 9:20 p.m. ET at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Both teams were heavily favored on Saturday. The Huskies were a 10.5-point favorite against Alabama and Purdue was a 9.5-point favorite against NC State.
Both teams also won by double digits and covered. The defending champion Huskies had to endure a red-hot shooting half from Alabama, which was 8 of 11 from 3-point range in the first half, but won 86-72. The game was tied 56 with 12:44 to play, but UConn scored the next eight points and Alabama didn’t get closer than six for the rest of the game.
All five UConn starters scored in double figures thanks to Stephon Castle’s 21 points. Donovan Clingan had four blocks.
Purdue’s 63-50 victory was even more comfortable. The Boilermakers led throughout the game after taking an early 9-2 lead. Zach Edey had 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Now, Edey and Clingan, arguably the two best players in this tournament and the favorites to win MVP, will meet in a marquee clash of big men. The 7-foot-4 Edey is averaging 28 points and 15.4 rebounds in this NCAA tournament. The 7-foot-2 Clingan is averaging 16.2 points, nine rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game in five tournament games.
The opening point total is 146.5, putting this game in the 70s for both teams.
Austin Mock’s projection model also places UConn as a 6.5-point favorite with a projected average score of 75.3 to 68.8. The Huskies have won the national title in 70.7 percent of simulations.
Purdue is looking for its first national title. This is the Boilermakers’ first appearance in a title game since 1969, when they lost to UCLA.
UConn is not only the defending champion, but also seeking its sixth national title. The last consecutive national champion was Florida in 2006 and 2007.
(Donovan Clingan Photo: Jamie Schwaberow / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)