Earlier this month, the NCAA Final Four weekend began on April 6, where fans saw UConn beat Alabama 86-72, and on the other side, Purdue beat NC State 63-50. Then in the championship game UConn beat Purdue 75-60, winning their 6th championship.
Key players for both teams were Purdue’s center, Zach Edey who had 37 points and had 10 rebounds, and Uconn guard, Tristen Newton who had 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 7 assists.
The Purdue team struggled as they couldn’t score on UConn’s elite defense. Other than Edey, the whole Purdue team only scored 23 points. A key player for UConn was guard, Stephon Castle who had 15 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
“I believe Uconn won because they were very talented compared to Purdue, as Uconn had many people that contributed in the finals, while Zach Edey had more points than his entire team combined,” sophomore Tyler Roche said.
In the semi-finals, Purdue played 11th-seed N.C. State and cruised to a 63-50 victory. Edey had 20 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists. Uconn beat 4th-seed Alabama 86-72, with center Donavon Clingan scoring 18 points, with 5 rebounds, and 4 blocks.
“I think Purdue and UConn won because of their centers who played a key role in leading their team to the finals, and both teams have great guards as they are willing to score in important games,” freshman Ryan Hajewski said.
Earlier in the tournament, local team Marquette went on a streak moving to the Sweet 16 where they played NC State, but they played poorly only hitting 4 of 31 on three-pointers.
“I believe our shooting wasn’t the best out there as we shot 12 percent from the three and 30 percent on field goals, but overall we did well in this tournament,” freshman Wesley Van Lith said.
Marquette hopes to reach the finals with new players and the same people back from this year.
Overall the NCAA March Madness tournament was a success as many people watched it and there were many upsets in this tournament like Oakland beating Kentucky and Yale beating Auburn in the first round. Fans got to see future NBA players play in their last March Madness tournament of their careers including Edey, Clingan, and Tyler Kolek.
