Championship Game - Tidbits

#1 Connecticut 75 #1 Purdue 60

Connecticut wins their 2nd straight National Championship and their 6th overall.

Connecticut becomes the first team to win back-to-back National Championships since Florida in 2006-2007.

Teams that have won back-to-back Championships:

• Oklahoma State - 1945 & 1946
• Kentucky - 1948 & 1949
• San Francisco - 1955 & 1956
• Cincinnati - 1961 & 1962
• UCLA - 1964 & 1965; 1967 to 1973
• Duke - 1991 & 1992
• Florida - 2006 & 2007
• Connecticut - 2023 & 2024

Connecticut is tied with North Carolina with 6 National Championships.  Only UCLA (11) and Kentucky (8) have won more.

Connecticut is 6-0 all-time in Championship Games.

Connecticut has won 12 tournament games in a row.  That is tied for 3rd most all-time.

• UCLA 38 (1964-1974)
• Duke 13 (1991-1993)
• Kentucky 12 (1945-1952)
• Cincinnati 12 (1960-1963)
• Florida 12 (2006-2007)
• Connecticut 12 (2023-2024)

Connecticut has won all 12 games by double digits which is the longest streak in tournament history.

Connecticut is tied with Gonzaga for the most tournament wins this decade with 12.

Dan Hurley becomes the 16th coach to win multiple National Championships.

Connecticut breaks the record for the largest margin of victory for a National Champion in their 6 wins.  They won by a combined 140 points.  The previous record was 129 by Kentucky in 1996.

Connecticut becomes just the 5th AP #1 ranked team to win the National Championship since the field expanded in 1985.

• 1992 Duke
• 1995 UCLA
• 2001 Duke
• 2012 Kentucky
• 2024 Connecticut

Connecticut is the 4th Overall #1 Seed to win the National Championship since it started in 2004.

• 2007 Florida
• 2012 Kentucky
• 2013 Louisville
• 2024 Connecticut

The Big East has won nine straight National Championship Games.  Their last loss in a Championship Game was in 1996 by Syracuse against Kentucky.

The Big Ten has lost eight straight National Championship Games. Their last win in a Championship Game was in 2000 when Michigan State defeated Florida.

The Big East is 3-2 against the Big Ten in the National Championship, having won the last three.

Connecticut defeated three Big Ten teams in this year's tournament.  They become the 8th team to defeat at least 3 teams from the same conference in a single tournament:

• 1992 Duke - Big Ten (Iowa, Indiana, Michigan)
• 2001 Duke - Pac Ten (UCLA, USC, Arizona)
• 2003 Syracuse - Big Twelve (Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Kansas)
• 2005 North Carolina - Big Ten (Wisconsin, Michigan State, Illinois)
• 2012 Kentucky - Big Twelve (Iowa State, Baylor, Kansas)
• 2018 Villanova - Big Twelve (West Virginia, Texas Tech, Kansas)
• 2022 Kansas - Big East (Creighton, Providence, Villanova)
• 2024 Connecticut - Big Ten (Northwestern, Illinois, Purdue)

Connecticut is a tournament-best 8-0 playing in the state of Arizona.

Connecticut is tied for a tournament-best 4-0 vs. teams from Indiana (tied with Boston College and Virginia)

Connecticut is 2-0 vs. Purdue in the tournament.  They also defeated Purdue 72-60 in the 2009 Sweet Sixteen.

Purdue has the most tournament wins without a championship with 49.

Purdue is 0-2 in the National Championship Games.

Purdue is 0-8 against #1 Seeds.

Final Four Tidbits

#1 Connecticut 86 #4 Alabama 72

Connecticut is in the National Championship for the second straight year and the 6th time overall.

Connecticut is 6-1 in National Semifinal games.

Connecticut is the first AP #1 team to play in the National Championship Game since Gonzaga in 2021.  The last AP #1 ranked team to win the National Championship was Kentucky in 2012.

Connecticut is the 7th overall #1 seed (out of 20) to play in the National Championship Game.  Only three overall #1 seeds (2007 Florida, 2012 Kentucky, 2013 Louisville) have won the National Championship.

Connecticut is 2-0 vs. Alabama in the tournament.  They also defeated Alabama 87-71 in the 2004 Elite Eight.

Connecticut has won 8 straight tournament games against the SEC.

#1 seeds are 5-1 vs. #4 seeds in the National Semifinals. (Arizona in 1997 is the only #4 seed to win). 

Connecticut also defeated a #4 seed in the National Semifinals (Ohio State) in their only other appearance as a #1 seed in the Final Four (in 1999).

Connecticut is tied with Utah for a tournament-best 7-0 in games played in the state of Arizona.

Connecticut has won 11 tournament games this decade, which is tied with Houston for 2nd most behind Gonzaga, who has won 12 games.

 Alabama is 2-6 vs. #1 seeds and 1-3 vs. AP #1 ranked teams.

#1 Purdue 63 #11 North Carolina State 50

Purdue is in the National Championship Game for the first time since 1969 and the 2nd time in school history.

Purdue is the first Big Ten team in the National Championship Game since 2018 when Michigan lost to Villanova.

Purdue is the third team ranked #3 in the AP poll to play in the National Championship Game in the past 4 years.  The other two (2021-Baylor, 2022-Kansas) won the National Championship.

Purdue ends a 3-game tournament losing streak against the ACC.

North Carolina State is 2-2 in National Semifinal Games.

North Carolina State is 3-4 vs. #1 seeds.

#1 Seeds are 6-4 vs. #11 Seeds all-time.

#11 seeds are 0-6 in National Semifinals.

An ACC team loses in the National Semifinals for the third straight year.