We are now down to the Final Four of the 2024 Men’s NCAA Tournament. Who had UConn, Purdue, Alabama, and N.C. State in their bracket to reach the Final Four? My Sweet 16 picks was horrible and UConn is the only team correctly picked for the Final Four. The only region that was picked correctly came from the East Region. UConn and Illinois were picked to meet in the Region Finals and the Huskies emerged as the winner. In the West, North Carolina and Arizona were my picks to meet in the West Region Finals. Instead, we had the Crimson Tide upsetting the Tar Heels in one game. In the other, Clemson took down the Arizona Wildcats and they met Alabama in the Finals. These two schools are no strangers to one another, but they usually meet in football. The Tide defeated Clemson to move on to the Final Four.
In the South Region, the Duke Blue Devils pulled off the upset over the top seeded Houston Cougars. Jamal Shead suffered an ankle injury in the first half that put him out for the game. The Blue Devils took advantage of the situation and advanced to the Elite 8. In the other game, N.C. State continued their Cinderella run by taking out Marquette. The Wolfpack continued their momentum to the Elite 8 to face a familiar foe. In that game, N.C. State defeated Duke for the second time in the past month to advance to the Final Four. The Midwest Region’s first game saw the Purdue Boilermakers blow out Gonzaga. Zach Edey continued to dominate, and the Zags were my pick to upset the top seed Boilermakers. In the second game, Tennessee took down the Creighton Blue Jays to advance to the Elite 8.
Creighton was my pick to beat the Vols and the Zags to reach their first Final Four. Tennessee handled business convincingly and met Purdue for the chance to reach the Final Four. Purdue took out the Vols behind Zach Edey’s monster 40 points and 16 rebound game. The Final Four is now set in Phoenix. The Purdue Boilermakers will take on the N.C. State Wolfpack in one semifinal game. In the other one, the UConn Huskies battle the Alabama Crimson Tide. These games take place on Saturday night with the winners meeting each other on Monday night. Who advances to the championship? Let’s look at who I’m picking to get one step closer to the championship.
The first game will have the N.C. State Wolfpack taking on the Purdue Boilermakers. N.C. State and D.J. Burns has become the team that most of the nation is behind. Before the ACC Tournament, this Wolfpack team was on a 7-game losing streak. They were projected not to make the tournament, but they had other plans. The Wolfpack got hot, and it carried them to the ACC Tournament crown. Here they are now the 11th seed and being one step away from playing for the national championship. Does this Wolfpack team have one more miracle in them? Purdue has been one of the best teams in the country all season. Zach Edey is as dominant a big man we have seen in a mighty long time. The key for any team to beat Purdue is to slow him down, but it hasn’t happened in the tournament yet.
Who on the Wolfpack team will have the daunting task of defending Edey? Who on Purdue will matchup against Burns in the post? This should be a good game, but I’m seeing Purdue wearing down the Wolfpack in the second half. In the end, the Boilermakers are the better team and will advance to the championship game on Monday. Winner: Purdue Boilermakers
In the second game, we have the defending champion UConn Huskies taking on the Alabama Crimson Tide. UConn has beat down every team they have faced thus far. The Huskies used a 30-0 run to blow out Illinois in the East Region Finals 77-52. The defending national champion has looked better this year and has dominated thus far in the tournament. Donovan Clingan gets most of the attention and deservedly so, but this team is stacked. Can the Huskies take care of business against the Tide, or could we see an upset? Mark Sears is averaging over 21 points per game this season. Sears is the leader of this team from the point guard position, but the Tide got athletic bigs. Nick Pringle will be the X-factor for the Tide along with Rylan Griffen. Alabama will need another huge game from Jarin Stevenson.
The Huskies will need to just stick to their normal game plan and execute for them to win. With Alabama, they will need to play a damn near perfect game. This will be a tough test for the Huskies, but I’m picking them to pass it and advance to the championship game. Winner: UConn Huskies
Trav’s National Championship Game Pick
- UConn Huskies vs. Purdue Boilermakers
