The first repeat men’s college basketball champion in a decade or a first-time NCAA tournament winner will be crowned on Monday night.

At NJ sportsbooks and PA sportsbooks, the UConn Huskies are a seven-point favorite over the Purdue Boilermakers.

UConn and Purdue played at an unbeatable pace for most of the season, so it’s only fitting we get the two best teams squaring off for a title. That usually doesn’t happen in the NCAA tournament, so hopefully we get a good-old fashioned clash of the titans inside State Farm Stadium.

The Huskies have been a seven-point favorite or better in 28 of their 37 games this season.

Danny Hurley’s team has been a spread-covering machine in the NCAA tournament with a 5-0 ATS record. They’re also 11-1 ATS in the last 12 games.

Because Purdue has been equally as dominant, there isn’t much data on the Boilermakers as an underdog. They are 2-0 ATS and straight up as a dog this season in games against Illinois and Arizona.

Just like UConn, Purdue is 5-0 ATS in the NCAA tournament, so one of these money-making streaks has to end on Monday night.

As for the total, it sits at 144.5.

UConn is 10-9 to the over when the total closed at 145 points or lower this season. Purdue went 11-5 to the over when the over/under closed at 145 or lower.

However, Purdue is 4-1 to the under in the NCAA tournament and UConn hit the over once in its last 10 games.

The numbers and the nerves that a national championship brings could make for a good concoction for the under.

For what it’s worth, only two of the last six national championships had both teams eclipse the 70-point mark. Gonzaga lost by scoring exactly 70 points in a blowout in 2021. Virginia and Texas Tech each went over 70 with the help of overtime in 2019.

Only one of the last eight title games had both teams safely go over 70 points in regulation. That happened in the Kris Jenkins game back in 2018.

The national title game doesn’t guarantee a memorable matchup either. Only four of the last eight men’s title clashes were decided by seven points or less.

I’m personally holding out hope for an epic battle with two dominant big men in Zach Edey and Donovan Clingan, but recent history shows there’s more of a 50/50 chance of that coming into existence.