Zach Edey vs Donovan Clingan: Height difference, stats comparison and NBA Draft projection

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With arguably two of the best centers that we’ve seen in collegiate basketball for some time, and two teams that are as good as it gets, the real winner on Monday night will be the fans of the sport who get to see a championship game matchup made in heaven.

UConn & Purdue are built different

For starters, we’ve got to acknowledge the fact that both teams come into the game as No. 1 seeds which is only the 10th time in NCAA history that we’ve seen this happen. Where the Boilermakers are concerned, it’s been 55 years since they last made an appearance at this stage of the tournament, while the Huskies are heading back to the big game for the second year running after taking the title last year.

Indeed, Connecticut is looking to lay another brick in the foundation of its dynasty, being only the second team since Florida in 2007 to be on the verge of back-to-back championships. Then, there is Purdue, a team looking to return to the upper echelons of college basketball after demonstrating throughout this season that they deserve to be there. This of course brings us to the two central reasons why both teams are where they are right now: Zach Edey and Donovan Clingan

Zach Edey is truly a problem

At 7-foot-4 and weighing in at 300 lbs, Purdue’s center Zach Edey is not a small man. Of course, the same has got to be said about the man that he will go toe-to-toe with on Monday night, UConn’s 7-foot-2 center, Donovan Clingan. If you’re wondering the national championship game between the Boilermakers and the Huskies on Monday night will mark only the second time that two 7-footers have met in the title game. Where Edey is concerned, the man they call “The Big Maple” has been compared to some of college basketball’s all-time greats. Consider that he is the first player since Oscar Robertson (1960) to lead the nation in scoring and lead his team to the Final Four.

Edey is also the first player since Lew Alcindor aka Kareem Abdul Jabbar (1968) to score 50 points, pull down 35 rebounds, and shoot 65% from the field in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament. We could go on, but we’ll conclude by stating that other than David Robinson, Edey is the only player in NCAA history to score 2,000 points, claim 1,000 rebounds, register 200 blocks, and shoot over %60 throughout their entire college career. OK, one more: Zach Edey is the first player since Larry Bird himself (1979) to post 875 points and 435 rebounds in a single season. As we said, the man is a problem. Regarding his NBA Draft projection, Edey is currently slated to go at No. 14 in ESPN’s latest mock draft which would see him heading to the New Orleans Pelicans via the Los Angeles Lakers.

Donovan Clingan may be the solution

Weighing 280 lbs and standing at 7-foot-2, Donovan Clingan is slightly smaller in stature than Zach Edey, but it should be clear by now that he comes to the court with an equally big game. Now, while Clingan’s 12.9 points and 7.5 rebounds per game don’t exactly jump off the page at you, it’s worth noting that as a sophomore he has averaged 22.1 minutes per game while playing for a UConn team that has an absolutely stacked roster. This is to say that were his numbers extrapolated to 40 minutes, we’d be seeing an average of 23.4 points, 13.6 rebounds, 4.5 blocks, 2.8 assists, and one steal per game.

Where his college career is concerned, the Huskies center has a total of 695 points, 467 rebounds, 151 total blocks, and a per-game average of 9.7 points and 6.5 rebounds on 55.2% shooting from the field. As for this season, we’ve seen Clingan post a total of 426 points, 248 total rebounds, and 81 blocks with a per-game average of 12.9 points and 7.5 rebounds on 64.3% shooting from the field. Interestingly, he is actually slated to go higher in the Draft than the player he’s about to clash with. According to ESPN, Clingan was in fact the highest-ranked prospect in the Final Four and is currently slated to go at No. 3 overall.

UConn vs Purdue is a game for the ages

Indeed it is. On one side we’ve got the Huskies who have been monstrous as they have marched toward the final and not just because of Clingan either, but rather the loaded team that they have developed. Quite frankly, that’s probably why Purdue head coach Matt Painter made it clear that the Boilermakers are very conscious of what they’re about to face.”They understand what we’re up against,” Painter said. “They understand we haven’t played anybody like UConn. They’re not fools. We have cable where we’re from.” Consider for a moment that the Huskies are currently on a historic streak of 11 consecutive NCAA Tournament wins of 13 points or more. That’s no small thing.

Yet, on the other side of the divide, we’ve got to talk about what Purdue has achieved, and in doing so, Zach Edey has got to take center stage. In the five games that Edey has played up to this point, has has posted a truly legendary stat line, scoring more than 140 points, while pulling down more than 70 rebounds. Frankly, both he and his teammates will need to be at their absolute best against a team that is undefeated in Final Four/title games. So, ultimately we’ve got the unbeatable team vs the immovable man. While clearly a tough one to call, it looks to be a night in which fans are going to get what they always hope for, an epic game.

“Humongous night and it’s so great for college,” said UConn coach Dan Hurley. “It’s the two best programs in the country the last two years that are going to play an unbelievable game. ...I think it’s fitting for us, as we’re going for history, to have to beat a team of that caliber to get it, with Edey and that incredible team they’ve got, one of the best coaches in the sport, this is what I think we were hoping for.”