It has been two very chaotic weekends, full of upsets, close games, some not so close games and many memorable moments. We are finally at the end of the road, as the Final Four is now ahead of us. UConn, Purdue, Alabama and NC State, all four teams took different roads and had different expectations, but now they are the last four alive. Each team is looking to win it all. The two matchups on Saturday will determine who plays for it all.
Sorry for the spoilers, but I have seen the future, and know what two teams will be competing for the National Championship.
Starting off with the winners of the Midwest and South regions, the No. 1 Purdue Boilermakers face off against No. 11 NC State: Both teams are looking to etch their name into the history books for two different reasons. Last season, Purdue was a one-seeded team when they were shockingly upset by last year’s No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickenson in the first round.
The Boilermakers became the second ever team to lose in the first round as a No. 1 seed. The only other team? 2018 Virginia, who lost to No. 16 UMBC 74-54. Virginia went on to be a No. 1 seed the next season and won the 2019 National Championship. Five years later, this 2024 Purdue squad sees themselves in the same exact spot, two games away from a title.
The Boilermakers, led by Player of the Year frontrunner Zach Edey, have looked fantastic, excelling in the half-court offense. They have players who can shoot the three, shooting over 40% as a team but not always needing to rely on it. Something NC State will need to focus on is forcing turnovers against Purdue.
Not many people expected the Wolfpack to be here. As an 11-seed who went into their conference tournament losing 10 of their last 14 games, NC State has won nine straight games, all within the span of 19 days. This team has had to face an unbelievable amount of adversity, beating in-state rival UNC to clinch a berth into March Madness, and then beating another in-state rival Duke to make the Final Four.
NC State looks to become the first double digit seeded team to ever make the National Championship, and win their first title since 1983, led by the great Jim Valvano and a team known as the “Cardiac Pack.” That team in 1983 was a six-seed, who defeated a heavily favored No. 1 Houston. Fast forward to this year, the spirit of the 1983 Wolfpack lives through this 11-seed, who must get past Zach Edey and Purdue.
Led by breakout start DJ Burns, I hope to see this Cinderella story continue, they must make sure they don’t get into foul trouble, which teams struggle to prevent when facing Purdue.
Now it’s prediction time. This is tough as I have an internal battle between who I want and who I think will win. I think DJ Burns will be very physical with the 7-foot-4-inch tall Zach Edey, but Purdue always seems to have the refs on their side, and I think the Cinderella run comes to a sad end, and Purdue moves onto the National Championship.
No. 1 UConn vs. No. 4 Alabama: The East and West region champs face off, and this is the matchup I wanted most. UConn is looking to become the first team to go back-to-back since Florida in 2006-07, and to possibly have the most dominant two years a program has ever had. The Huskies were tied up with Illinois 25-25 in the first half of their Elite Eight matchup, and they proceeded to go on an unheard of 30-0 run and win the game by 25.
This team’s dominance is almost unprecedented. They have won 10 straight tournament games by double digits throughout the last two seasons, and their 2024 tournament average margin of victory is 27.8 points. Finding a way to have an advantage over this UConn team is near-impossible, and Alabama will have their hands full. This team, led by Tristen Newton and Donovan Clingan, will look to keep their dominance going.
For Alabama, this is their first time in school history reaching the Final Four. They are also the second school to make the College Football Playoff and the Final Four in the same season, alongside 2015 Michigan State. The Tide were the No. 1 overall team in last year’s bracket and lost in the Sweet 16 to eventual runner-up San Diego State who lost to UConn in last year’s title game.
Now, Alabama faces the No. 1 overall seed as a No. 4 seed for a chance to make the championship. Bama has been one of the best offenses in the country, being known for their fast pace, chuck-up threes style of play. However, when March came, the Tide was able to ramp up the defense in certain moments and get them to where they were. They will need to be more consistent on defense against UConn though, as the Huskies offense will be a handful. Alabama will need to run UConn out of the gym and score a lot of points if they want a chance at a title.
When it comes to this game, I think the prediction is a little easier than the last game. UConn has been my National Champion since the beginning of the season. I believe Bama’s inconsistent defense will let the Huskies run away with this one, making the 2024 National Championship a matchup of one seeds, No. 1 UConn vs. No. 1 Purdue.
Bryce Norwood can be reached at [email protected]