Though Purdue never made much noise in the NCAA Tournament when Painter was a player, he has now spent 20 seasons at the helm of the Boilermakers' ship, getting to five Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight before he helped guide Purdue to the title game this year. Painter played four solid seasons with the Boilermakers from 1989 to 1993, culminating in a senior season in which he averaged 8.6 points and 4.5 assists per game. Jamie Squire / Getty Imagesīut perhaps more important to Painter, now that he's here, is what team he led to the Final Four, and tonight's championship game. Head coach Matt Painter of the Purdue Boilermakers, in Glendale, Ariz., on Monday. Coming into the tournament, Painter's name was most frequently mentioned by his peers as to which coach was the best who had never made it to a Final Four. For many, Painter's arrival here has been a long time coming. Matt Painter, Purdue's head coach since 2005, is making his first appearance in a national title game. Unlike last year, the general public will not be allowed into the arena, and no alcohol will be sold during the event, school spokesman Mike Enright said.Ī total of 39 people were arrested after celebrants broke windows, overturned vehicles and even used a light post to ram a door at the student union after the Huskies’ win over San Diego State last April. The school also has limited the size of the campus watch party planned for tonight’s title game against Purdue. Only 6,700 students, all of whom won tickets to the event through a lottery, will be allowed inside Gampel Pavilion for the event, and they all will be seated in the upper bowl of the 10,000-seat arena. In advance of the Final Four, the school removed the aluminum light posts along Hillside Road, the main thoroughfare through the center of campus, and replaced them with temporary recessed lighting. Precautions were in place today at the University of Connecticut to prevent a repeat of the violence and vandalism that marred the celebrations of the school’s 2023 NCAA men’s basketball championship. “We’re kind of getting used to this up here, the confetti, the trophy,” Hurley said postgame. Purdue has been to the Final Four three times, reaching the championship game once, but has never won the NCAA Tournament. The only other programs to win six or more NCAA men’s titles are UCLA (11), Kentucky (8) and North Carolina (6). This is UConn’s sixth national championship.

The most recent team to accomplish such a feat was Florida in 2007. UConn became just the eighth team in NCAA men’s basketball history to win back-to-back national championships following its victory last season against San Diego State.

Purdue’s 7-foot-4 center, Zach Edey, had a game-high 37 points and 10 rebounds in defeat.

“You can’t even wrap your mind around it, because you just know how hard this tournament is,” Huskies coach Dan Hurley said after the win. After a back-and-forth first half, the Huskies gained their first double-digit lead near the midpoint of the second half before they pulled away. Tristen Newton paced UConn with 20 points, while Stephon Castle added 15 points. UConn clinched back-to-back NCAA men’s basketball championships Monday, defeating Purdue 75-60 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

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