The stage is set for the men’s Final Four in Phoenix.
UConn and Purdue, the No. 1 and No. 3 overall seeds, will take to the court in State Farm Arena, home of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, on Saturday as favorites to meet in the title game against relatively unlikely foes in No. 4 Alabama and No. 11 NC State.
The Huskies look to finish their historically-dominant two-year stretch with back-to-back national titles, which has only been done twice in the last half-century. But Alabama stands in the way with a chance to become the first program to take down a reigning national champion in its Final Four debut.
On the other side of the bracket, Matt Painter and likely two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey hope to finally get over the hump after last year’s first-round exit at the hands of No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson. But D.J. Burns and NC State can add another chapter to the Cinderella story that’s captured America’s heart as they compete for the program’s third NCAA Tournament title.
Here is all you need to know about each Final Four team and its road to Phoenix:
Game 1: No. 1 Purdue vs.
No. 11 N.C. State, 6:09 p.m.
Purdue Boilermakers (33-4)
Coach: Matt Painter (19th season)
Final Four appearances (0-2): 1969, 1980, 2024
• Road to Phoenix: Purdue beat Marquette to win a loaded November Maui Invitational before cruising to the Big 10 regular-season title and a No. 1 seed for the second year in a row after going 17-3 in the league, with regular-season losses coming against Northwestern (overtime), Nebraska and Ohio State. The Boilermakers, with the eighth-best margin of victory in Division I (14 points), were upset by Wisconsin in overtime in the Big 10 tournament semifinal before beating No. 16 Grambling State (78-50), No. 8 Utah State (106-67), No. 5 Gonzaga (80-68) and No. 2 Tennessee (72-66) to get to their third Final Four.
• Players to watch: Zach Edey, the 7-foot-4 traditional center, has been far and away the most dominant player in college basketball over the last two seasons. A native of Toronto, Edey followed his unanimous national Player of the Year season in 2022-23 by averaging 25 points per game (No. 1 in the nation) and 12.2 rebounds (No. 2). The tallest player in the NCAA Tournament, he didn’t even need the ladder to cut down the net in Detroit after scoring 40 points with 16 rebounds in Sunday’s Elite Eight win over Tennessee. Edey, averaging 30 points and 16.3 rebounds in the tournament, is complemented by 3-point shooters in guards Braden Smith (12.2 points, 7.5 assists, 43.9% from 3) and Fletcher Loyer (10.6 points, 44.1% from 3), as well as forward Mason Gillis (6.6 points, 47.5% from 3).
N.C. State Wolfpack (26-14)
Coach: Kevin Keatts (7th season)
Final Four appearances (2-1): 1950, 1974, 1983, 2024
• Road to Phoenix: NC State, 10th in the ACC standings, wasn’t supposed to be in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack lost seven of their last nine regular-season games but won five games in five days to win the ACC tournament, including an upset of Duke in the quarterfinal, a buzzer-beater that sent the semifinal against Virginia to overtime and another upset of North Carolina to earn the auto-bid. They beat No. 6 Texas Tech (80-67) and survived No. 14 Oakland (79-73) in overtime before taking down No. 2 Marquette (67-58) and fourth-seeded in-state rival Duke (76-64) in the Elite Eight.
• Players to watch: D.J. Burns, the 6-foot-9, 275-pound graduate student, has been a joy to watch in March, averaging 22.4 points and 5.8 rebounds over his last five games. The light-hearted former four-star recruit, who originally committed to Tennessee but started his career at Winthrop and transferred to NC State after three years, caught the attention of NBA superstar Nikola Jokic after his 29-point Elite Eight performance. Burns, however, isn’t the only D.J. on NC State’s roster to watch out for. Fifth-year guard D.J. Horne, a 40.9% 3-point shooter, led the Wolfpack in scoring during the season and has averaged 16.5 points and 5.3 rebounds in the tournament.
Game 2: No. 1 UConn vs.
No. 4 Alabama, 8:49 p.m.
Connecticut Huskies (35-3)
Coach: Dan Hurley (6th season)
Final Four appearances (5-1): 1999, 2004, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2023, 2024
• Road to Phoenix: UConn lost five of its top eight players from last year’s national championship roster and followed the title with the winningest season in program history. The Huskies cruised to the Big East regular-season and tournament titles, losing just three games, all on the road, to Kansas, Seton Hall and Creighton. Hurley’s team, like a machine, has won a record 10 consecutive NCAA games by double digits. In this tournament alone, beating No. 16 Stetson (91-52), No. 9 Northwestern (75-58), No. 5 San Diego State (82-52) and No. 3 Illinois (77-52), the reigning champs are the first to make it back to the Final Four since Florida won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.
• Players to watch: Center Donovan Clingan, 7-foot-2 from Bristol, Connecticut, was named Most Outstanding Player in the East Region after his 22 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and three steals in the Elite Eight. He is the centerpiece of the Huskies’ balanced approach and inarguably one of the most impactful players in the nation at both ends. Directed by All-American point guard Tristen Newton, UConn has five starters averaging double figures, all grabbing at least 4.7 rebounds per game. The Huskies added a hyper-competitive scorer in Cam Spencer and one of the best freshmen in the nation in Stephon Castle, a lockdown defender. Alex Karaban, who Hurley called the “brain center” of the program, hasn’t had the best tournament but is still one of the team’s most important players.
Alabama Crimson Tide (25-11)
Coach: Nate Oats (5th season)
Final Four appearances: 2024
• Road to Phoenix: Alabama lost five games against quality opponents in the nonconference and then four of its last six, including a quarterfinal exit to Florida as a No. 3 seed in the SEC tournament. The Crimson Tide, with its high-powered offense and its porous defense, ranks 346th in the nation in points allowed per game (81.1). Alabama outscored No. 13 Charleston 109-96 to avoid a first-round exit and handled No. 12 Grand Canyon (72-61) before holding off No. 1 North Carolina (89-87) and No. 6 Clemson (89-82) in the Elite Eight.
• Players to watch: Senior point guard Mark Sears has been one of the best players in the nation, averaging 21.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists, shooting 43.4% on nearly six 3-pointers per game on the season. He’s logged 37 minutes per game throughout the tournament while upping his scoring to 24.3 points and shooting 44.7% on 9.5 3-pointers per game. Grant Nelson, a 6-11 forward, scored 24 points with 12 rebounds and five blocks against North Carolina and well-traveled fifth-year guard Aaron Estrada has been great all-around for the Tide despite his shooting struggles, averaging 12.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists through four tournament games.
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