NCAA championship: UConn's Clingan is the X factor

And then there were two. We're in for a treat tonight as we have the defending champs going for another title in UConn, and another No. 1 seed in Purdue who is looking to replicate the Virginia model of "lose to a No. 16 seed and win it all the following season."

Huskies vs. Boilermakers. Edey vs. Clingan. This one is going to be fun.

Backing the back-to-back bid

It's just extremely hard to not back UConn here. Have you been watching these games? Sure, the first half can stay close, but time and time again Connecticut pulls ahead and wins with ease.

UConn is now 11-0 straight up and against the spread on this two-year tournament run, and as dominant as Zach Edey can be, we have to back the Huskies here.

The X-factor is going to be Donovan Clingan. The 7-foot-2 UConn center, who is projected to be a lottery pick in this year's NBA Draft, can give Edey trouble and resistance Edey hasn't yet had to face this March. Clingan is an elite shot-blocker and can be a force offensively that could put Edey in compromising positions.

If Purdue has to look elsewhere for much of their scoring tonight, all the more reason to like UConn to win with ease.

We're going simple tonight, give us the Huskies to secure the first back-to-back men's hoops titles since Florida did it in 2007.

Betting: UConn -6.5 (-110 Fanatics)

Action Network's betting coverage

If you're looking to be compelled in a certain direction, the team at Action has a look on both ends of the spectrum:

• The case for Purdue +7
• The case for UConn -7

Enjoy the action tonight as we wrap up another great college hoops season!

In the news ...

South Carolina caps off perfect NCAAW season with win over Iowa — Caitlin Clark and Iowa jumped out to 10-0 and 18-7 leads, but they couldn't hold on, as South Carolina flexed their dominance in an 87-75 championship win. The Gamecocks ended the year a perfect 38-0, only the fifth women's college basketball program to ever achieve the feat. Head coach Dawn Staley and her team got revenge on Iowa for ruining their perfect season in last year's Final Four and have now won two of the last three titles (going 109-3 in that span). For Clark, it's a disappointing end to her collegiate career but she no doubt helped lift the game to new heights. The Indiana Fever have the first pick in the WNBA Draft and are expected to grab Clark, and the Fever are -240 to make the playoffs this season.

Akshay Bhatia wins Valero Texas Open and qualifies for Masters — 22-year old Akshay Bhatia had a wire-to-wire win at the Valero Texas Open, holding off a strong Sunday from Denny McCarthy to win the tournament on the first playoff hole. The performance helped clinch a spot at Augusta for Bhatia, with Masters action set to tee off this Thursday. Scottie Scheffler has opened as a massive favorite to win The Masters at +400, a price we can't get in good conscious grab. Don't sleep on some of LIV Golf coming to crash the party. Jon Rahm is the defending champion and 12-1, and Brooks Koepka is also playing solid golf and can be found at 20-1. We prefer the price on Rahm in what should be a great weekend of golf.

John Calipari set to leave Kentucky for Arkansas — In what can only be classified as a massive surprise, long-time Kentucky head coach John Calipari is closing in on a new five-year contract with the Arkansas Razorbacks. Calipari has been the men's basketball coach at Kentucky since 2009, advancing to the Elite Eight six times, three Final Fours, and one national championship. However, Kentucky has had trouble escaping the first round of late, and Calipari is set to take over the Razorbacks job following Eric Musselman's move to USC. If you wanted to get out ahead on a wildly successful debut season, you can grab Arkansas to win it all next season at 30-1.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll. Follow him on Substack: griffybets.substack.com.