It all comes down to Monday night, as 68 teams entered the Big Dance, and only two remain after roughly three weeks of play. The UConn Huskies and Purdue Boilermakers will face off at 9:20 p.m. ET at State Farm Stadium to determine who will be crowned the 2024 NCAA Tournament champion.
These have arguably been the two best teams in the country for the majority of the season, with each spending multiple weeks as the AP No. 1.
While each team took a different path to reach the title game, they do have many similarities, including dominant big men. Zach Edey became the first repeat AP Player of the Year since Ralph Sampson won it three years in a row from 1981 to 1983, while Donovan Clingan has been projected as a consensus lottery pick due to his defensive dominance and elite athleticism for a 7-footer.
FOX Sports Research decided to take a deep-dive into just how dominant Edey and Clingan have been from a statistical point of view.
Let’s take a look.
Zach Edey
2: In Purdue’s opening-round win over Grambling, Zach Edey became the first player with 30 points and 20 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game since Maryland’s Joe Smith in 1995. Edey and Smith are the only two to put up such a stat line in the NCAA Tournament over the last 50 years.
1968: Edey has recorded 140 points and 77 rebounds through five games in this year’s NCAA Tournament, becoming the first player since Elvin Hayes in 1968 to record at least 140 points and 70 rebounds in a single NCAA Tournament.
4: In Purdue’s Elite Eight win over Tennessee, Edey became the fourth player with 40 points and 15 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game over the last 60 seasons, joining Bo Kimble (1990), Elvin Hayes (1968), and Bill Bradley (1965).
6: In Purdue’s Elite Eight win over Tennessee, Edey became the sixth player ever to score 40 points in a game that sent his team to the Final Four (Dennis Scott (1990), Bill Bradley (1965), Oscar Robertson (1960), Don Schlundt (1953), Clyde Lovellette (1952).
45: In Purdue’s Elite Eight win over Tennessee, Edey became the first Division-I player to record 900 points and 450 rebounds in a single season since Indiana State’s Larry Bird in 1979- 45 years ago.
20: In Purdue’s Eite Eight win over Tennessee, Edey became the first player ever to record over 20 field-goal attempts and more than 20 free-throw attempts in an NCAA Tournament game.
1960: After Purdue’s win over Tennessee, Edey became the first player to lead Division-I in scoring and make the Final Four since Oscar Robertson in 1960.
1: Edey has posted at least 20 points and 10 rebounds on 60% shooting in all five of Purdue’s tournament games, becoming the first player to ever accomplish that feat in an NCAA Tournament.
6: Edey is the first player since Elvin Hayes in 1967-68 to record 20 points and 10 rebounds in six straight NCAA Tournament games (the streak started against Fairleigh Dickinson in last year’s tournament).
109: Edey’s 109 wins over the last four years are more than any other major conference player in that span.
Donovan Clingan
1986: Clingan recorded 14 points, 14 rebounds, and eight blocks against Northwestern, becoming the first player with that many points, rebounds, and blocks in an NCAA Tournament game since Navy’s David Robinson in 1986.
64.5: Clingan has a career field goal percentage of 64.5%, currently the highest of any player in UConn history with a minimum of 100 field goal attempts.
10: Clingan ranks 10th in Division-I in blocks per game this season at 2.5; he ranks first among all players in the NCAA Tournament at 3.6 BPG (minimum two games played).
4: Clingan is one of four Power 6 players to average 13-plus PPG, seven-plus RPG, and two-plus BPG (Ryan Kalkbrenner, Johni Broome, Zach Edey).
100: According to CBB Analytics, UConn scores 20.1 more points per 100 possessions with Clingan on the floor, while also allowing 15.3 fewer points per 100 possessions.
2: Clingan ranks second overall in Evan Miyakawa’s CBB analytics player rankings tool (Edey ranks first).
1: According to CBB Analytics, of all players on Power 6 teams to average at least 13 PPG, Clingan ranks first in percentage of points that come in the paint.
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