Can Purdue Eclipse UConn Tonight in National Championship Game

Doug Reid (@doug_reid34)

College Basketball

Purdue vs Connecticut, 9:20pm
– Purdue +7 (-112), 1.12 units (Draft Kings)

This game is a battle of the two best teams by consensus in the country most of the second half of the season.  I believe it will come down to which big man handles play better and which teams shoot well from three point range.  In Connecticut’s last three wins against San Diego State, Illinois and Alabama they have shot 58.0% on two-point field goals, just 33.8% on three’s but the most interesting stat is the 7’2 centre Donovan Clingen has shot 60% from the floor, which is a number I don’t see him getting to against Zach Edey.  Purdue’s centre Zach Edey stands 7’4 and weighs 285 which is twenty pounds heavier then Clingen and two inches taller so he will be the toughest challenge the Connecticut star has seen all season.  Connecticut is the fourth best team in the nation from inside the arc, shooting 59.1% however a good chunk of that is Clingen being able to dominate most of their competition, which won’t be the case with Edey guarding the post.  On the other side, Purdue is the second best three-point shooting team at 40.6% while Connecticut is 61st at 36%, and showed against Illinois that they can go very cold for stretches in this area.  I don’t know that Purdue unseedsthe defending champs, but I think they can keep it close and cover this three possession spread.

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