UConn vs. Purdue FREE LIVE STREAM (04/08/24): Watch March Madness 2024 National Championship online

The Purdue Boilermakers will face the UConn Huskies in the 2024 National Championship game on Monday, April 8, 2024, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Fans can watch the game with a FREE TRIAL DirecTV streamor about Sling TV, That's 50% off your first month.

Here's what you need to know:

What: National Championship

WHO: Purdue vs. UConn

When: Monday, April 8, 2024.

Where: State Farm Stadium

Time: 9:20 p.m

TV: TBS and TNT

Station finder: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-Verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV, Court, Hulu, fuboTV, loop

Live broadcast: DirecTV stream (Free trial period), SlingTV (50% off your first month)

AP story:

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — UConn and Purdue dominated this year's NCAA Tournament. Now they meet on Monday evening for the national championship. The Huskies are seeking their first men's title since Florida in 2006 and 2007. They have beaten five tournament opponents by an average of 25 points per game, with the narrowest margin being 14 points. The Boilermakers are in the title game for the first time since their only loss to UCLA in 1969. Purdue wins its tournament games by an average margin of 19.6 points.

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GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The NCAA Tournament has reached its finish line, just one game away, pitting the top two teams that routinely win in romps and a great post matchup featuring a two-time national player of the year .

Maybe that's what makes this version of March Madness something to remember.

Reigning champion UConn faces Purdue on Monday night in a matchup of top seeds, which have combined to win their first five tournament games by an average margin of 22.3 points. They were at the center of a tournament that lacked drama, with the second-highest average margin of victory since the field was expanded to 64 teams in 1985, just one last-second winner and few of the highlights that were a regular part of the event .

Also, don't expect the Huskies or Boilermakers to be bothered in the least by their dominance.

“People who love basketball and people who really know the game watch good basketball,” Purdue guard Fletcher Loyer said Sunday. “Obviously the surprises are fun, really cool and get attention. But in real basketball you like to see how the two best teams play. And I think that’s what we have here.”

The tournament's appeal remains strong, from casual basketball fans at best writing their own group stage predictions to consistently high TV ratings. Still, there is a short list of unexpected moments this year: namely, Jack Gohlke hitting 10 3-pointers to help Oakland defeat blueblood Kentucky in the first round and No. 11 seed North Carolina State the wild ride to the program's first Final Four since the 1983 Cardiac Pack title run under the late Jim Valvano.

As for last-second shots that live on in tournament history, the closest this year was KJ Simpson, who hit a baseline jumper with 1.7 seconds left to lead Colorado past Florida 102-100 in Round 1.

Everything else was largely about UConn's winning streak and Purdue's path to redemption after last year's stunning loss to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson.

“Once you get to this time of year, it’s all about your identity,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “The way you play is very automatic. It just comes down to hoping it’s your night.”

UConn (36-3) looked like a runaway train even before the first game as it sought to become the first men's team to become national champions again since Florida in 2006 and 2007, and is only the third program to do so again since then The winner was UCLA's seven-straight series under John Wooden from 1967 to 1973.

“The way they won, you know, there were some teams that stuck with them and then they parted ways with them,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “There are some other teams that have been blitzed flat out.”

Last year, UConn became the fifth title winner since expansion in 1985, winning all six games by double digits, with the closest result being 13 points. This year, the No. 1 overall seed was even more dominant; The Huskies' closest game was Saturday night's 86-72 win over Alabama, and they have won five games by a total of 125 points – an average of 25 a night.

By comparison, North Carolina holds the record for the highest point differential in this elite group with 121 points in six games in 2009, so another double-digit win by the Huskies on a 6-on-6 run would shatter that record.

UConn forward Alex Karaban thinks that's still convincing.

“It’s special to witness the greatness of both teams and also the greatness of what we did last year,” Karaban said. “And it doesn’t have to be close, any of that, to be March Madness. It can be March Madness…and make history.”

The Boilermakers (34-4) have won five games by an average of 19.6 points, including a 63-50 win over NC State in the national semifinals. The only close call was beating Tennessee 72-66 from an 11-point deficit before halftime – behind 40 points from 7-foot-4 star Zach Edey – and earning the program's first Final Four appearance since 1980 to secure.

Now they're in their first title game since their only other appearance, a loss to Wooden's Bruins in 1969, and Edey has to contend with 7-2 defenseman Donovan Clingan.

“It's cool to win by enough points without having sweaty palms because of nerves,” Purdue guard Lance Jones said with a big smile. “So I think it’s good to have that edge to win.”

But that was also the focus of this tournament full of surprises.

According to Sportradar, the average lead in this tournament was 14.4 points. Only the 1993 tournament (14.9 points) had a larger margin since 1985, and in the previous 29 tournaments the average margin was 11.8 points.

Now Purdue has the last chance to stop UConn's march and perhaps pit two teams against each other in a thrilling finale.

“You respect a team like UConn that can do their business and beat a team 15-20 every night,” Loyer said. “It’s hard and I respect her for that. So we have to make sure we're ready to go and give people a show because they're the two best teams in college basketball. I don’t know what more you can ask for.”

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