Defensive Masterclass: How UConn’s Strategy Stopped Purdue and Secured the National Title

GLENDALE, Arizona: Luke Murray, the Connecticut assistant coach, said something to sophomore center Donovan Clingan at some point this season. Before the UConn team faced Purdue in the national final, he needed to get to know Zach Edey. Clingan said he would rather take Murray one-on-one so the rest of the Huskies could win when they discussed how they would approach the made-up competition.

Murray was the scout for Monday night’s championship game, and the coaches decided to grant Clingan’s request. He would play Edey one-on-one in the post while his teammates stayed around the basket and stole threes, forcing Edey to make tough twos as Clingan would wall up. Against Edey and Purdue point guard Braden Smith, the Huskies would play pick-and-roll two-on-two, not tagging the rollers and again staying near to the shooters.

“Statistically,” Clingan said, “it’s really hard to win games just scoring 2s.”

On Monday night, math and UConn’s colossus triumphed. Although Purdue only made one 3-pointer in the whole game, Edey scored 37 points on 25 shots to lead the Huskies to one of the most convincing wins in NCAA Tournament history, 75-60.

Pulling it off would have been impossible without Clingan, who is college basketball’s cheat code on the defensive end.

Few have the gall to not double team Edey, or try forcing him to think before he puts the ball in play by pressing forward from the perimeter. The identical strategy was used by NC State on Saturday night, when the Boilermakers made ten 3-pointers, with Edey assisting on four of them.

“We watched the film,” UConn guard Tristen Newton said. “They get their 3-pointers off people going down there and helping on Edey.”

Murray reviewed the data over the weekend and saw a trend in Purdue’s efficiency statistics. For Purdue to flourish, it truly did not matter if Edey was “good or great or excellent.” He has finished in double figures in every game this season. He consistently wins. The productivity of starting guards Lance Jones, Fletcher Loyer, and Smith—as well as the play of backup shooter Mason Gillis—was essential, especially their performance while they were outside the 3-point arc. The goal was to maintain those four between 25 and 28 points, and Edey’s total under 20.

Yes, Edey surpassed his total, but those other four combined for 17, with Gillis and Loyer both going scoreless.

The actions taken by UConn’s guards as soon as Edey touched it are what caused it to occur. They refused to abandon their task and abandoned their large man on an island.

The idea was for Smith to be sent left to attempt to slip under the screens when he received a ball screen, and Clingan to retreat and keep Edey from closing the distance behind him. If Edey won the race to the edge, assistance would need to be called in. That is made especially difficult by Purdue, whose shooters elevate themselves to such an altitude that they push the target into a protracted closeout.

Smith is as good as it gets at making passes like this:

“The idea of a pick-and-roll is, try to put two on the ball and and be in a disadvantage and put stress on the defense,” Murray said. “(Clingan) just takes away a lot of that.”

Although the Huskies were unable to stop Smith from moving forward, Clingan managed to eliminate the need for assistance from his colleagues. That is a remarkable feat for a 280-pound, 7-foot-2 man. Although he should not be able to shift that much weight backward so rapidly, Clingan will undoubtedly be selected in the lottery.

Clingan’s screened partner tried to come back into the activity, so they pretended to be playing cat and mouse. From watching the tape, he was aware that Smith had a tendency to pass the ball when he got up in the air, which made the aid defender commit. Early on, Smith acquired Clingan:

Clingan learned his lesson. The next time, he purposely dropped back, hoping it’d create some indecision for Smith, and it worked to perfection:

This is what Clingan has been doing for the entire year. Even out of position, his ability to block shots terrifies opponents. It even got to Edey, who tried to trick Clingan into not biting, and missed three shots at the rim that he usually would have made in addition to traveling once.

As is typically the case, the Huskies entirely change their game plan when backup center Samson Johnson enters the game, making it difficult for opponents to counter but simple for UConn. Johnson’s plan was to double-team Edey so that he could fool Camden Heide, then recover when the ball was released. The first time Edey saw that, he threw it over Heide’s head, which made Purdue ask for an over-and-back.

Smith made the right decisions, finishing with eight assists and just one turnover. He really only had two choices: either feed Edey or try to get a point for himself. He has completely demolished drop coverage this season with his pull-up jumper. But he only hit two of seven shots against the Huskies, who tried to wear him down with constant ball pressure from Hassan Diarra and Stephon Castle.

“We’ve played against athletes, played against some really good defensive guys this year and in the tournament, but not the collection of defensive players like UConn has,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We played against somebody, they would have a lock-down defender. These guys are bringing lock-down defenders off the bench.”

Playing defense with all of their might on every play and paying strict attention to every detail their coaches assign, the Huskies never give up. They progressed in this tournament in this way; their 14-point victory over Alabama was their closest match. In doing so, they held Purdue to just one 3-pointer for the third time in Painter’s 19 years at the school.

In case you were wondering, the Boilers also dropped both of those games. The last time this happened was on February 26, 2002, during a game against Michigan State. They only made one out of nine three-pointers. Edey received his too, scoring twenty-five.

In three of Purdue’s four losses heading into Monday night, the Boilers had made five or fewer 3s.

Give Edey 37 now? Such a situation would have alarmed many programs. However, the Huskies had faith in Clingan and the numbers.

“Math won,” Murray said.

Just as they predicted.

(Top photo of Donovan Clingan defending Zach Edey: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)