WATCH: UConn star Donovan Clingan hypes up crowd amid six-point first-half lead against Zach Edey's Purdue in 2024 national title thriller

As of this writing, the UConn Huskies lead the Purdue Boilermakers 36-30 in the first half of their matchup for the NCAA title. The 7-foot-2 sophomore out of Bristol, CT, was recently caught on video hyping up the pro-Huskies crowd in attendance at the State Farm Stadium, celebrating the advantage heading into the half:

Donovan Clingan finished the first half with seven points and two rebounds, showcasing his defensive prowess against Zach Edey. While the two-time National Player of the Year still finished the first half with 16 points and five rebounds, he was mostly contained late in the first half and has not had an easy look with Clingan holding his own down low.

For now, it seems like UConn is steadily proving why they`re ranked as the top overall seed in this year`s tournament. The first half was about the Huskies controlling much of the pace and not letting the Boilermakers get comfortable on offense.

Either way, UConn going into the half with a lead is right in their wheelhouse. Shortly before the first half wound down, the announcers mentioned that the Huskies have won 45 straight games when they go into the break with a lead. That said, this needs to be a far cleaner game for Purdue, whose turnovers are basically killing all their momentum thus far.

Tristen Newton lead UConn in the first half

The Huskies are able to build a first half lead mostly because of the efforts of star guard Tristen Newton. He currently has 11 points on 4-8 shooting from the field. Clingan and fellow guard Cam Spencer also contributed with seven points each.

So far, the two teams aren`t exactly struggling when it comes to scoring the ball. They`re almost evenly matched in all major team stats, but the Boilermakers are still not taking care of the ball as well as they want. If they don`t clean their acts up in the second half, it could spell their doom.