The NCAA Tournament has reached its finish line, down to one game pairing the two best teams that routinely win in romps and boasting .
Maybe that will make this version of March Madness something to remember after all.
in a matchup of top seeds that have combined to win their first five tournament games by an average margin of 22.3 points. They have been at the center of a tournament lacking in drama, with its second-highest average margin of victory since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, only one last-second winning shot and few of the highlight-reel thrills that had become a staple of the event.
Don鈥檛 expect the Huskies or Boilermakers to feel the least bit bothered by their dominance, either.
鈥淧eople that love basketball and people that really know the game, you watch good basketball,鈥� Purdue guard Fletcher Loyer said Sunday. 鈥淥bviously the upsets are fun and real cool and they get attention. But real basketball, you like to see the two best teams go at it. And I think that鈥檚 what we have here.鈥�
The tournament鈥檚 allure remains strong, from casual-at-best basketball fans scribbling out their own bracket projections . Yet there鈥檚 a short list of unexpected moments this year: namely, in the first round and under the late Jim Valvano.
As for those last-second shots that live on in tournament lore, the closest this year was with 1.7 seconds left
Everything else has largely been about UConn鈥檚 run to greatness, and Purdue鈥檚 march to redemption
鈥淥nce you get to this time of year, everything is just you are who your identity is,鈥� UConn coach Dan Hurley said. 鈥淭he way you play, it鈥檚 very automatic. It just comes down to hoping that it鈥檚 your night.鈥�
UConn (36-3) has looked like a runaway train from before the first game in its push to become the first men鈥檚 team to repeat as national champions since Florida in 2006 and 2007, and become only the third program to become a repeat winner since UCLA鈥檚 run of seven straight under John Wooden from 1967-73.
鈥淭he way they鈥檝e won, you know, there鈥檚 been some teams that have hung in there with them, then they鈥檝e separated from them,鈥� Purdue coach Matt Painter said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 some other teams that have gotten flat-out blitzed.鈥�
Last year, UConn became the fifth title winner since the 1985 expansion to win all six games by double-digit margins, the closest coming by 13 points. This year, the No. 1 overall seed has been even more dominant; the Huskies鈥� closest game was , and they鈥檝e won five games by a combined 125 points 鈥� an average of 25 per night.
By comparison, North Carolina in 2009 holds the record for highest points differential of that elite group at 121 points through six games, so another double-figure win by the Huskies to complete a 6-for-6 run would shatter that record.
UConn forward Alex Karaban figures that鈥檚 still compelling stuff, too.
鈥淭o witness greatness from both teams and to witness greatness from what we did last year, too, I think it鈥檚 special,鈥� Karaban said. 鈥淎nd it doesn鈥檛 have to be close, doesn鈥檛 have to be any of that for it to be March Madness. It can be March Madness 鈥� and making history.鈥�
As for the Boilermakers (34-4), they have won five games by an average of 19.6 points, including . The only close call was battling from 11 down before halftime to beat Tennessee 72-66 鈥� behind 40 points from 7-foot-4 star Zach Edey 鈥攖o clinch the program鈥檚 first Final Four trip since 1980.
Now they鈥檙e in their first title game since their only other appearance, a 1969 loss to Wooden鈥檚 Bruins, and Edey will have to tangle with 7-2 defensive force Donovan Clingan.
鈥淚t鈥檚 cool with me winning by enough points where it鈥檚 not that your palms are sweaty, being nervous like that,鈥� Purdue guard Lance Jones said with a broad smile. 鈥淪o I think having that margin of victory is good.鈥�
But that has also been at the forefront of what has been a blowout-filled tournament.
The average margin of victory in this tournament has been 14.4 points, according to Sportradar. Only the 1993 tournament (14.9 points) has had a higher margin since 1985, and the average margin had been 11.8 points for the previous 29 tournaments.
Now Purdue has the final chance to stop UConn鈥檚 March, and maybe have two teams tussling in a compelling finale.
鈥淵ou give respect to a team like UConn that can go and handle their business and go and beat a team by 15 to 20 every night,鈥� Loyer said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 tough to do and respect to them for it. So it鈥檚 making sure we鈥檙e ready to go and giving the people a show because it鈥檚 the two best teams in college basketball. I don鈥檛 know what more you could ask for.鈥�
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