Eddy v Clingan: most anticipated big man battle ever in tourney?

[WeAreDePaul]

Has there ever been a more anticipated big man match up than what we are getting tomorrow night? I know Alcindor vs Hayes at the Astrodome was massive but that was a regular season game.

Can anyone think of a bigger matchup in the tourney, let alone just in the finals like we are getting tomorrow night.

 

[Deepelm]

Not sure if old Bill can guard Zach. 😎

 

[Rod Dangerfield]

 

[jackrabbit slim]

Sampson vs Ewing in 82?

 

[Deepelm]

Taken from the main Uconn board

 

[WeAreDePaul]

Just saw the other thread, oops. It’s definitely Ewing vs Dream in 84.

 

[boilerzz]

Just saw the other thread, oops. It’s definitely Ewing vs Dream in 84.

Yep. Ewing vs Olajuwon was massive.

 

[dukedevilz]

Here are the best big man matchups in the tournament, by decade... I might be missing a few, but I think it's reasonably accurate.

1940s: Bob Kurland/Dolph Schayes, Oklahoma State/NYU, 1945 Championship Game
1950s: Bill Russell/Tom Gola, San Francisco/La Salle, 1955 Championship Game
1960s: Lew Alcindor/Elvin Hayes, UCLA/Houston, 1968 Final Four
1970s: Tom Burrleson/Bill Walton, NC State/UCLA, 1974 Final Four
1980s: Patrick Ewing/Hakeem Olajuwon, Georgetown/Houston, 1984 Championship Game
1990s: Christian Laettner/Chris Webber, Duke/Michigan, 1992 Championship Game
2000s: Al Horford & Joakim Noah/Greg Oden, Florida/Ohio State, 2007 Championship Game
2010s: Frank Kaminsky/Karl-Anthony Towns (& Willie Cauley-Stein), Wisconsin/Kentucky, 2015 Final Four
2020s: Zach Edey/Donovan Clingan, Purdue/UConn, 2024 Championship Game

I really loved that Florida-Ohio State matchup in 2007. Oden was a monster. And Donovan had to throw 2 All-Americans in Horford and Noah his way, just to contain him as much as possible. And then they also had Mareese Spreights, a 10-year NBA vet, to provide more relief off the bench.

Excited to this matchup tonight. Can Clingan stay out of foul trouble?

 

[IUfanBorden]

Excited to this matchup tonight. Can Clingan stay out of foul trouble?

I don't think foul trouble will be much of an issue with Clinigan with how much he plays.---kid only plays 22 minutes per game. Hes not suddenly gonna look to play 30+. UCONN also has 6'10 Samson Johnson to boot.

Bigger issue will be with Edey and foul trouble. If he gets two early, could be big, big trouble. And bet the farm Hurley is gonna put him in multiple PNR.

 

[dukedevilz]

Bigger issue will be with Edey and foul trouble. If he gets two early, could be big, big trouble. And bet the farm Hurley is gonna put him in multiple PNR.

Fair point. UConn is a lot more versatile than Purdue. Should be a dynamite matchup that's worthy of a national championship game. I just feel like UConn has a higher margin for error as they can beat you so many different ways.