NCAA Tournament: #1 Connecticut vs #5 Purdue

Perhaps the news accounts of Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun’s health were overblown, but everybody is looking for an angle.

Here’s another one. The Huskies won the 1999 and 2004 national championships coming out of the West Regional. Well, here they are again in Arizona trying to get through with one of the better squads Calhoun has fielded.

But this is far from a coronation. Missouri and Memphis are each 30-plus win teams and Purdue won 27 games. It appears the Huskies have adjusted to life without their second leading scorer Jerome Dyson.

The question for Missouri, Memphis and Purdue is can they play enough defense to slow down the Huskies? By cutting down on the number of possessions, it makes a difference. Just ask Pittsburgh which turned both meetings against UConn into half-court affairs and won.

And if it gets to Memphis-Connecticut, watch two of the most athletic teams in the country go at it.

Connecticut Road to the Final Four: D. No. 16 Chattanooga, 103-47 D. No. 9 Texas A&M, 92-66

Pudue Road to the Final Four: D. No. 12 Northern Iowa 61-56 D. No. 4 Washington 76-74

Connecticut Moment of Truth: There really hasn’t been one except when coach Jim Calhoun wasn’t at the first round game.

Connecticut Leading Scorers: A.J. Price 14.6, Jeff Adrien 13.9, Hasheem Thabeet 13.7

Purdue Moment of Truth: The Boilermakers blew a double digit lead in the second half against Washington but held on.

Purdue Leading Scorers: E’Twaun Moore 14.0, JaJuan Johnson 13.4, Robbie Hummel 12.4

Key Matchup: Purdue’s half court vs. Connecticut’s transition. The Boilermakers are going to try and slow this game down to a crawl and keep it into the 60s. If they can, they can be in the game. Purdue is one of the Big Ten’s top offensive teams. But it has to value possessions.

Who Wins and Why: Connecticut. The Huskies just have too many options that the Boilermakers can’t match. And when you add a shot blocker like Thabeet, it makes taking anything to the glass tough. Connecticut is just a vastly better team.

NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Preview: #1 UConn vs #5 Purdue