The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s march madness tournament has been a fun one. With the final four decided, teams are gearing up for the final games. Number 11 seed NC State Wolfpack takes on 1 seed Purdue Boilermakers. The number 4 seed Alabama Crimson Tide takes on the number 1 seed UCONN Huskies.
The Purdue Boilermakers are second this year only to the Huskies. With guards like Fletcher Loyer and 7 ‘4 Zach Edey they are hard to stop. Starting out the tournament they dominated 78-50 against the number 16 seed Grambling State Tigers. They continued to make a strong run against Utah State with a huge 106-67 win. However, the sweet 16 was a challenge. They defeated Gonzaga 80-68 with Zach Edey leading the team with 27 points and 14 rebounds.
The Boilermakers then faced their toughest opponent, the Tennessee Volunteers. It was a close game, however Purdue still came out on top with a 72-66 victory. Edey again led the team with 40 points and 16 rebounds. But not going unnoticed, was guard Fletcher Loyer who had 14 points and 4 assists. This game sends the Boilermakers to face NC State in the final four on Saturday.
NC State is the Cinderella of this tournament. The Wolfpack entered being seeded 11 on the South side of the bracket. They definitely did not let this seeding bring them down. DJ Burns is one to look out for from the Pack. He is a Senior Forward that has made quite a lot of commotion. He has scored 73 points in the last four games in the NCAA Tournament. NC State was not supposed to make it this far let alone dominating every team in their path.
“I guess it’s how I was raised. I was raised in a happy environment. I try to take that with me everywhere I go,” DJ Burns said according to ncaa.com.
When the Wolfpack played Duke in the south final to get to the Final Four. It was a game that most thought that Duke would put a stop to this underdog team. However, NC State had other plans. They came into the game blowing through them with full force and showing no weakness. The Pack ended the game with a whopping 76-64 win to make it to the Final Four. They now play one seed Purdue to make it to the Championship on Saturday.
UCONN is the powerhouse team of the tournament that has shown time and time again that they do not back down or play down to anyone’s level. They have shown consistency, grit, and talent making them the most reliable team in the tournament. Senior Tristen Newton is the star for UCONN. He averages 15 points per game and averages 6.7 rebounds. He is a top notch athlete that has led his team through the big moments. He is an athletic and versatile player. The Huskies obliterated the Illinois Fighting Illini in the elite eight where they went on a 30-0. UCONN is going to be playing Alabama on Saturday for a chance to play in the Championship.
“UConn won both the Big East regular-season and tournament titles to add a couple new pieces of hardware to the program. Clearly, the Huskies have established themselves as the team to beat in college basketball,” according to cubs sports.com.
Alabama is an underdog going into the final four. This is their first ever program final four appearance. Many thought they would have gotten knocked out in the sweet 16 by UNC. Alabama started the tournament out with a huge 106-96 win over Charleston. They then proceeded to conquer the sweet 16 with a huge 89-87 win over the number one ranked UNC. Number 2 Grant Nelson led the team with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Onto the elite eight where they defeated the Clemson Tigers in a physical game.
Nick Pringle was solid on the boards with 11 rebounds and 16 points. So was Mark Sears who knocked down 23 points. The Alabama Crimson Tide will face the number 1 UCONN on Saturday to try and secure a spot in the championship game.
“You know, when you are a kid, you want to be in these moments and it felt like my dream came true today. My dream definitely came true today,” Mark Sears said according to cnn.com.
Be sure to watch the games on Saturday to see who will make the championship game on Monday night.
SATURDAY NIGHT
5:09 PM: #1 Purdue vs. #11 North Carolina State on TBS (National Semifinal)
7:49 PM: #1 UCONN vs. #4 Alabama on TBS (National Semifinal)
MONDAY NIGHT
8:00 PM: National Championship on CBS
