NCAA Tournament Title Game Preview: #1 Purdue vs. #1 UCONN | Titans clash

On Monday night, a rare occurrence will cross the nation.

March Madness is a beautiful mess full of Cinderellas and Titans, with equal opportunity for both to shine. But the brightest lights often eclipse the darkest days, and Titans topple and the Final Four is left to pick up the pieces of broken brackets and shattered dreams.

There's nothing better than the NCAA Tournament, but what's left is not always the best match-ups.

But on this Monday, the day of the eclipse, college basketball's two best teams will meet in Phoenix, Arizona where the winner take all National Title feels fitting.

When Purdue and UConn's scoreboard settles, the trophy will not just be a representation of six hot games, or a shocking story of a team that came out of nowhere. Instead, it will represent itself as it should be - a marker of college basketball's best team.

Let's take a look at how Dan Hurley and Matt Painter have guided their teams here. In Hurley's case, it is a repeat of last year when UConn won the National Title. For Purdue, it's in stark contrast of a first round exit last year and his first ever trip to the National Title game.

UConn is the defending National Champions. Despite losing three of his main contributors from last season, Dan Hurley has his UConn Huskies back in the National Title game to try and become the first team since Billy Donovan's Florida Gators to win back to back National Championships.

Purdue hadn't been to a National Title game since 1969. Matt Painter has never been on this stage or the Final Four.

There are as many differences as similarities between these coaches and these programs.

The dichotomies exist in large part because both programs are reflections of its head coach. Matt Painter and Dan Hurley might look antithesis to each other on the court - Hurley is a whirlwind of east coast toughness and yelling while Matt Painter is Midwestern cool and polite in demeanor - but the two men share a basketball heart, an ideology and conviction that sets them at the head of the college basketball landscape.

"I think we do have a lot of similarities," Dan Hurley said Sunday. "In terms of the culture and the old-school values that we have in terms of the type of people that we recruit, the type of teams we have. So maybe the personalities are a little bit different on the sideline. I wish I had his composure at times."

Hurley smiled there, another similarity between the coaches - self-awareness.

"I just think we've been involved in the game our whole lives," Hurley continued. "We were both players. We both played for incredible coaches throughout our careers. I think those coaches we played for have made us stubborn and strong in what we believe."

"I think we're both very confident people that are authentic and aren't trying to put on a show. I don't think there's anything fake about either one of us. We are who we are."

And if you were comparing Hurley to Painter before last season, they would also share a lack of NCAA Final Four and NCAA Championship experience.

Now Hurley is on this ride for the second straight year. The repeat hasn't been any less sweet for the coach.

"I think, listen, when you break through that euphoria that you feel when you punch your ticket to the Final Four," Hurley told me. "Just the bigness of this event, just participating in it as a coach or a player, the experience, this setting, the buses, police escorts, 70,000 people, I mean, it's an incredible, incredible experience."

"The second time you make it feels just as good as the first."

It shouldn't be a surprise both teams are aware of the other team it's going up again.

"They understand what we're up against," Painter said about his players. "They understand we haven't played anybody like UConn. They're not fools. We have cable where we're from."

While the zinger left the media room laughing, an hour or so later, UConn players and Hurley were on the podium and speaking about Purdue in similar tones.

"Playing certain programs," Hurley said. "It feels like a privilege because of what they stand for, how they do, how good they are."

"To be able to play the National Championship versus Purdue," he continued. "How good they are, how Matt runs things, it's a real privilege to play them for the championship."

Tristen Newton, star guard for UConn, echoes his coaches sentiment.

"Yeah, we've been the two best programs the past two years," Newton said sunday. "Us and Purdue. It's a great matchup. We're looking forward to it."

For Purdue this stage is exactly where it wanted to get to.

"We've been talking about it all year," Mason Gillis said Sunday. "We want to be in the national championship. And all year we want to play the best team. And they are the best team."

On the court, UConn and Purdue have dominated at both ends of the floor.

UConn has a historic offense, the best in the country according to Kenpom in offensive efficiency. Purdue isn't far behind with the third best offense in the country and one of the most efficient in Matt Painter's tenure at Purdue.

UConn's defense has been nearly as good. It's dominated inside the paint with the help of big man Donovan Klingan. It has the 4th best defense in the country according to Kenpom.

Purdue's NCAA Tournament run has been sparked by its defense. It hasn't allowed a team to score 70 points yet in the tournament. It's moved up to the 12th best defensive in the country according to Kenpom.

The big match up is the bigs.

Zach Edey is the 2X National Player of the Year and will most likely set the scoring record for one NCAA Tournament if he gets more than 13 points on Monday. He's no longer being compared to anything but the absolute bests that have ever played.

Donovan Klingan is as dominant a defensive force as there is in college basketball. He's had 9 blocks in the last two games. Klingan's movement combined with his size makes him one of the hardest to handle bigs in the country.

Which force down low gives into the other? Can either impose their will as it has all season?

Braden Smith had one of his worst games as a Boiler, making just one shot on Saturday, turning the ball over 5 times in the first half, but the team rallied around him on the court and in the locker room.

Purdue can take a little solace that it was able to win while its lead guard and star had a game that didn't live up to his standards.

But things won't get easier as UConn will look to continue to pressure Smith with its two-headed defensive back court with Tristen Newton and Stephon Castle. The two guards have NBA size, at 6-5 and 6-6 respectively, and it will be a stark advantage over the smaller three guards that Purdue runs with in its starting lineup.

Braden Smith is just 6-0, Lance Jones is 6-1, and Fletcher Loyer is just 6-4.

UConn's third guard is a familiar face, Cam Spencer, a former Rutgers player who hit a game winner against Purdue in Mackey Arena during his short time in Piscataway.

Spencer has been the country's most efficient offensive player, something Purdue knows too well. A fact that Hurley had some fun with Sunday.

"I'll say that I'm sure Cam endeared himself to their fans while he was in the Big Ten," Hurley said on Sunday.

The entire NCAA Tournament has been a trip back through memory lane for Spencer. Purdue will be the third Big Ten team UConn has faced in its six tournament games.

Now he will get one more chance to be a pain in Purdue's side.