Welcome to “The Daily Scoop”, an article to bring you up to date with the latest news from college basketball and a preview of the day ahead.

Daily Headlines

#1 UConn uses strong second half to win second straight title game vs #1 Purdue

The 2023-24 college basketball season’s final game was yet another dominant performance by the UConn Huskies. UConn defeated Purdue 75-60 Monday night in Phoenix to claim their second straight championship, becoming the first school since Florida in 2006-07 to win back-to-back national championships. Purdue trailed by just six points at halftime, but a second half flurry from the Huskies saw them in comfortable control for most of the second half.

Point guard Tristen Newton was the player of the game for the Huskies, going for 20 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Freshman Stephon Castle showed up on the big stage as well, scoring 15 points on 6-13 shooting. Zach Edey was the only Boilermaker to do anything in the biggest game of the season for Purdue, finishing with 37 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks. Braden Smith finished with 12 points, hitting the only three-pointer of the game for Purdue. UConn’s win etches their name into college basketball history, becoming the ninth team to win back-to-back national championships.

A short 2024 NCAA Tournament recap as the season concludes

Monday night brought the conclusion of the 2023-24 college basketball season and of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, each of which brought us all plenty of great moments. The first round of the NCAA Tournament was highlighted by the electric 32-point performance from Jack Gohlke which saw the Oakland guard hit ten three-pointers in an upset win over #3 Kentucky. The second round introduced the casual college basketball fans to DJ Burns, who took over against Oakland with 24 points to put NC State into the Sweet 16.

Following a great first weekend of the tournament, the Sweet 16 saw a handful of key upsets. Duke and Alabama took down #1 seeds Houston and UNC, as #11 NC State continued its Cinderella run into the Elite Eight with a win over #2 Marquette. The Elite Eight games showed us all just how good UConn was this season, as the Huskies scored 30 straight points in their game against Illinois. The 2024 Final Four consisted of UConn, Alabama, NC State, and Purdue, with UConn and Purdue both advancing to the championship game as #1 seeds, meeting each other in Monday night’s championship game to cap off the season.

Other Things to Note:

• Arizona senior center Oumar Ballo (13 ppg, 10 rpg) enters the transfer portal
• Oklahoma State junior guard Javon Small (15 ppg, 5 rpg, 4 apg) enters the transfer portal
• Kentucky freshman forward Aaron Bradshaw (5 ppg, 3 rpg) enters the transfer portal
• USF senior guard Chris Youngblood (15 ppg, 3 rpg) enters the transfer portal
• North Dakota State transfer forward Andrew Morgan (13 ppg, 5 rpg) commits to Nebraska
• Earl Timberlake (15 ppg, 9 rpg, 4 apg) withdraws from the transfer portal and returns to Bryant for his final season
• Georgia senior guard Justin Hill (10 ppg, 3 apg) enters the transfer portal