Zach Edey came to play Monday night, and Purdue is hanging tough with UConn in the national championship game as a result!

Coming into the title game, the reigning champion Huskies were a 6.5-point favorite per ESPN Bet. That was a large discrepancy in a showdown of 1-seeds, but UConn is looking for a second straight title while winning every game in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments by double digits.

So far, Edey has been balling out while battling with big man Donovan Clingan. Edey went right at Clingan early and often in the first half, taking advantage of UConn allowing the two to battle it out in the post.

It wasn’t all about Edey’s offense in the first 20 minutes. He delivered some big-time blocks and was able to help keep the Huskies off the offensive glass with his rebounding.

At the break, Edey has 16 total points on 7-for-12 shooting to go with 5 rebounds. It’s a big-time performance on the biggest stage to keep Purdue in the game, but UConn has answered Edey’s numbers with a 36-30 lead at the break. As a result, the live spread at ESPN Bet has actually grown to favor the Huskies by 8.5 points at halftime.

Fan reaction

No matter what team you root for, Edey’s first half of Monday’s game has been a performance to behold. Whether or not UConn continues to let him battle one-on-one in the post will be something to monitor, but fans were loving his showing against Clingan.

Take a look: