Donovan Clingan vs. Zach Edey headlines National Championship game showdown between Purdue & UConn
Jason Fitz, Krysten Peek & Danny Green provide a preview of the National Championship game between the Huskies and Boilermakers, discussing key matchups to watch in Glendale, AZ, on Monday night.
Video Transcript
JASON FITZ: It was a wild year in college basketball, but for all the chaos, here we stand with two of the best teams from day one in this season taking on each other for the championship. Purdue taking on University of Connecticut. We're here to break it all down. Krysten Peek, Danny Green, Jason Fitz for Yahoo Sports.
I feel like every time we do a breakdown, it turns into the bigs and the guards. It's going to be the same. But let's start, Danny, with the bigs.
DANNY GREEN: I mean, the whole weekend for me it's been the battle of the bigs. I think Zach Edey is going to have to really step up the game and take care of the load, because they're a little weaker on the perimeter than UConn is.
But honestly, between Clingan and Edey, this might be the one-on-one match-up we all come to, and they might cancel each other out. But said Edey is going to have to really get positioned, try to control the boards, protect the rim, and I mean, it's probably better for Purdue to slow the pace down, because when Clingan is running, I don't think Edey will have a chance to guard him.
But I'm looking forward to this match-up. And this one is where Edey really has to step up and show he's the number one, or first round draft pick.
JASON FITZ: Yeah. Well, you tried to get him to give away his secrets on Clingan. He wouldn't do it. So KP, what are you looking for here?
KRYSTEN PEEK: It's the guard play. I mean, always it's going to be the battle of the bigs that everyone, all eyes are going to be on Donovan Clingan and Zach Edey. But it's how are they getting the ball. And we saw it in the win against NC State.
Braden Smith had his worst game of the year. And he looked defeated in the locker room. I talked to him today, and he just said, just like in a game, it's next play, next play. It's next game. We're forgetting that happened, we're looking ahead. And they think that they match up really well with UConn.
But we saw it with Alabama. They wanted to target Stephon Castle being on the bright stage, the bright lights. He answered. And so in order for Purdue to have a chance here, I think they're really going to have to shut down the perimeter play, because they have so many weapons and so many different ways to beat you.
JASON FITZ: I'm going to be the sort of matchmaker here and say, what about the guards rebounding the ball. Keep an eye on that. This is the two best teams with the two best players in the tournament, and that makes it can't miss.