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Basketball writers' brackets

Reflecting on the tournament, UConn far exceeded my expectations. I had them losing in the Elite Eight, but little did I know that they would not only win it all,

Tennessee , United-states , Arizona , Alabama , Connecticut , Kentucky , Matt-painter , Vincent-lembo , Dan-hurley , Camden-heide , Ashlynn-bakemeyer , Myles-colvin

Zach Edey vs. Donovan Clingan

GLENDALE, Ariz. — During a quiet beat in the national anthem before Purdue played at Illinois on March 5, someone in the crowd screamed loud enough for everyone else to hear: “F— Zach Edey!” Boilermakers assistant Brandon Brantley and director of operations Elliot Bloom looked at each other and mouthed, “Thank you.” They knew what was coming. A poked bear proceeded to maul the Illini: 28 points, eight boards, three assists, two blocks and a steal in a 77-71 road win over the second-best team in the Big Ten.“When he was younger, I’d tell him, ‘Oh, that big guy, he’s my favorite in the league. He’s the best in the league,’” Brantley said. “He’d look at me like, What? I’d tell him, ‘Hey, there’s a package in my office. (Maryland center) Julian Reese sent you roses.’ It’s harder now, because he knows how good he is.”There just aren’t many big men left who anyone could consider a legitimate threat to Edey, the 7-foot-4, 300-pound, two-time national player of the year. There were supposed to be two of them here at the Final Four, but Edey swatted away the first — NC State’s dancing bear, DJ Burns Jr. — in the semifinals Saturday night. Fittingly, the final boss is the next-best center in America: Connecticut’s 7-foot-2, 280-pound Donovan Clingan.On Monday night, it’s Big Maple vs. Cling Kong for a national championship.“It’s going to be fun to watch,” Purdue guard Fletcher Loyer said Sunday, in part because both gentle giants find their inner maniac when their supremacy is challenged. “Zach likes that. You saw it the other day with DJ Burns. The media hyped him up — rightfully so, he’s a great player, same with Clingan. It’s no disrespect to any of them. It’s just how much work Zach’s put in, how determined he is to win a national championship. You can kind of see it in the look in his eyes. You see that sometimes before the games.“He’s got the dead stare. If I’m on the other team, I don’t want to see that from him, because obviously back-to-back national player of the year — he’s going to get the job done.”Continue reading.

United-states , Illinois , Maryland , Connecticut , America , Zach-edey , Brandon-brantley , Julian-reese , Fletcher-loyer , Donovan-clingan , Burns-jr ,

UConn stymies Purdue in title game, becomes first back-to-back men's champions since 2007 Florida

Other than Florida, only Duke in 1991-92 had gone back-to-back since John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty in the 1960s and 70s.

Connecticut , United-states , Florida , North-carolina , Kentucky , America , Camden-heide , Kyle-tucker-kyletucker , Rick-pitino , Hassan-diarra , Braden-smith , Dan-hurley

Brian Hamilton's prediction: UConn

I picked the Huskies to repeat at the outset of the NCAA Tournament. I would be willing to switch it up if I had evidence to suggest I should … but I don’t. In fact, the backcourt play — particularly on the defensive end — makes me wonder if this will be close. We’ve all seen Final Four games tilted by an early foul call or two on big men. We know that’s probably fatal for Purdue and certainly problematic for UConn, should it happen Monday. But Tristen Newton and Stephon Castle have locked down better guards and wings than Purdue can offer. UConn has size and depth and multiple paths to victory. The Boilermakers need to play damn near perfect. That’s a tough ask.UConn 76, Purdue 66

Kentucky , United-states , North-carolina , Florida , Connecticut , America , Donovan-clingan , Zach-edey , Rick-pitino , Camden-heide , Bill-self , Tristen-newton

Purdue's Zach Edey came up one win short of a title, but his legacy is towering

The back-to-back national player of the year couldn't will the Boilermakers past UConn. But he did everything else in his career.

Houston , Texas , United-states , Sweden , Canada , Phoenix , Arizona , Indiana , West-lafayette , Ethan-morton , Braden-smith , Dan-hurley

Hurley says 'No way' about taking Kentucky job

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Dan Hurley entered rare air on Monday night, becoming just the third men’s college basketball coach to repeat as a national champion since the end of John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty in the 1970s. And when it was over — a 75-60 victory over Purdue marking Connecticut’s 12th consecutive NCAA Tournament win by double digits — Hurley found himself in another very small club: coaches who’ve won it all and immediately had to address the possibility of leaving for another program. Such is life when you’re the hottest coach in the sport and the Kentucky job unexpectedly becomes available on the eve of the championship game.Continue reading.

Kentucky , United-states , Florida , North-carolina , Connecticut , America , Tristen-newton , Hassan-diarra , Zach-edey , Stephon-castle , Donovan-clingan , Rick-pitino

Zach Edey came up one win short of title, but his legacy is towering

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Will Berg arrived in West Lafayette, Ind., last year from Sweden, desperately homesick and missing his father, Martin. The two are incredibly close, bonded after they lost Berg’s mother to a battle with alcoholism. Berg didn’t talk about it much to anyone, trying to find a way to fit in with his new team, but as the months continued, the gnaw in his stomach grew. One afternoon in practice, maybe about a month into the season, Zach Edey told Berg to hang in there, that though Canada isn’t quite as far as Sweden, he understood what it was like to transplant yourself entirely on your own.Continue reading.

North-carolina , United-states , Kentucky , Florida , Connecticut , America , Matt-painter , Rick-pitino , Donovan-clingan , Bill-self , Zach-edey , Stephon-castle

Zach Edey vs. Donovan Clingan is the big-man showdown college basketball deserves

The two towering centers powered their teams to the national title game. Which one comes out on top?

Alabama , United-states , Illinois , Connecticut , Maryland , America , American , Julian-reese , Carsen-edwards , Fletcher-loyer , Oscar-robertson , Kihei-clark

They might be giants: Edey, Clingan and Burns a (very) Big 3 at men's Final Four

The big men at Purdue, UConn and NC State will shine on the big stage this weekend. Hopefully the stage is big enough to handle them.

Illinoi , Indiana , United-states , Denver , Colorado , Japan , North-dakota , Illinois , Connecticut , Alabama , North-carolina , Japanese

Boilermakers stop Aggies dead in their tracks

INDIANAPOLIS - As the Purdue bus followed its three motorcycle police escorts down South Street en route to Gainbridge Fieldhouse, it happened upon the intersection with Maryland Street. One policeman dashed ahead and gave two buses waiting to make the turn the stiff arm, putting his hand up to signal that the buses wait to allow the Boilermakers to continue ahead.The first bus belonged to the Utah State band, the second to the basketball team. Never has there been a more apt metaphor. Purdue stopped the Aggies dead in their tracks, delivering a second-round humiliation that felt personal. Not, mind you, against Utah State. Despite Matt Painter’s end of pregame speech to “shove it down their throat," the intended receivers were not the overmatched team from Logan, Utah; it was against everyone and anyone who has considered the Boilermakers not worthy, not real, not good enough.This was an exorcism and a statement, Purdue gifting its happy fans with a 106-67 parting gift as it heads to Detroit for a Sweet 16 date with Gonzaga.The Boilermakers knew they had to win their first-round game; they also knew that once they did, the goalposts would move again. Now it’s about proving that Purdue isn’t somehow fatally flawed, that its style of play can survive this three-weekend tournament. The answer came at about the eight-minute mark of the first half, Purdue turning an uncomfortable 25-24 game into a rout that ended with the scrubs in the game, swishing threes like the starters, Lance Jones’ pointing to the scoreboard as he exited the game, and Zach Edey chilling on the bench with a towel around his neck. The box score read like a near work of art, the Boilermakers dishing 29 assists on 37 made field goals, mixing up 11 3-pointers with 44 points in the paint, following Painter’s constant harping to crash the boards to the tune of a 49-26 advantage. Four players finished in double figures, including, of course, Edey.Much to the consternation of the Utah State fan who, from a safe zone of 30 feet and a table away, screamed over and over again that Edey is soft, the Big Maple finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and three assists. He sent Utah State’s two big men to the bench with two fouls early and treated the rest of the Aggies like Godzilla used to treat the airplanes in those old black-and-white movies.This, of course, will not be enough either. The Boilers have reached the Sweet 16 six times under Painter and have but one Elite Eight to show for it (albeit an epic regional final loss to Virginia in 2019). There’s only one final destination for Purdue and that’s Phoenix, the site of the Final Four.But perhaps this will question at least some who think if they’ve got the engine to get there.

Virginia , United-states , Phoenix , Arizona , Utah , Gainbridge-fieldhouse , Lance-jone , Zach-edey , South-street , Utah-state , Matt-painter