The Final Four takes place this Saturday in Glendale, Arizona, and the national champion will be decided the following Monday.
As the highest overall seed, the UConn Huskies hope to make history by being the first team to win the title twice in almost 20 years. The Huskies have a chance to become the sixth different school to win back-to-back NCAA Tournament titles, and the first since Florida in 2006–07.
A distinct group of Final Four competitors stands in the way of history. Alabama Crimson Tide defeated Clemson in the Elite Eight to go to the Final Four for the first time in school history. For the first time since the early 1980s, NC State and Purdue are participating in the final weekend of the collegiate basketball season.
Alabama and Purdue have never won a national championship, but NC State has won two national titles (1974 and 1983).
In pursuit of their sixth national championship, UConn has the chance to tie North Carolina for third place all-time in championship wins, after Kentucky and UCLA.
Purdue vs. NC State – 3:09 p.m. MST.
The Boilermakers seem to have a pretty easy matchup against the No. 11 seed NC State, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Nobody should be counting out the Wolfpack just yet.
NC State has been led by DJ Burns Jr. The big man has averaged 18.6 PPG, and has been almost unstoppable, and along with DJ Horne, it seems like they can accomplish anything.
Teammate Kam Woods credits Burns’ personality traits for NC State’s run just as much as he does Burns’ silky smooth game.
“You would think that because he’s got all this weight, he’s limited,” Woods said. “But he’s the most talented guy I’ve ever seen. I see the work he puts in and the person he is: he cares for other people. That’s why we’re here.”
To help even things up, Purdue has the most dominant big man in the country on their side. The two-time AP National Player of the Year Zach Edey is on a mission to bring home the brass. His performance in this tournament has been nothing but astounding. He scored forty points in the last matchup against Tennessee, and grabbed sixteen rebounds. He was simply unstoppable.
Given his ability to escape double teams and make face-up shots from the midrange or baseline areas, Burns will present Edey with a tough matchup. However, I don’t think Burns and Mohamed Diarra, two 6-9 players who have struggled with foul problems throughout the tournament, are the best players to defend the 7’4” Edey.
Considering the journey the Wolfpack have had over the last three weeks, I won’t write them off completely, but I believe Kevin Keatts‘ team’s run ends with this game versus Purdue.
UConn vs. Alabama – 5:49 p.m. MST.
As for the other match-up, UConn has proven that they are a lock for the National Championship game.
They have beaten every team by 25 points or more in the tournament, and they show no signs of slowing down.
In the pre-game press conference, UConn’s head coach Dan Hurley says that they need to bring their best game with them in order to beat Alabama.
“It’ll be the best offense that we’ve guarded this year. As good as Illinois’ was, this is better,” Hurley said. “If we’re not on our identity, we’re vulnerable just like everyone else.”
Alabama hits just as many 3s as UConn’s regular Big East rival, Creighton, but more quickly and frequently from a genuine five-out look. Not to mention, the true game-changer for the Crimson Tide is their complacency about missing. They could miss their first 10 three-pointers, but they do not care. They will not stop shooting.
The issue for Alabama coach Nate Oats is that, at least theoretically, the defense-versus-offense matchup favors the Huskies.
Since losing to Auburn 99-81 on Feb. 7, the Crimson Tide have allowed 90.4 points per game over 14 contests.
To put it bluntly, UConn is going to smash the Crimson Tide, just like they have smashed every other team that has stood in their way.
UConn is the heavy favorite to win the National Championship, and the only team that seems to be a threat to stop them is Purdue. But they don’t say, “anything could happen in March,” for no reason.
No matter which team comes out on top, all of the student-athletes deserve the highest of praise for making it this far in the tournament.
