The Final Four starts this weekend the teams who are in it are Uconn, Alabama, Purdue, NC State. Uconn is a one seed and they have been the favorite to win this tournament from the start they will take on the four seeded Alabama. Purdue is another one seed and is one of the other most picked champions. NC State will play Purdue and they are an eleven seed and have gone on one of the best Cinderella runs ever even though they aren’t seeming too much like a Cinderella now.
NC State vs Purdue
Both NC State and Purdue have dominant post players. Purdue has 7’4” Zach Edey who has been averaging 30 points and 16 rebounds so far in the tournament. NC State has DJ Burns Jr who is 6 '9 " smaller than Zach Edey but is not as lengthy but has arguably better footwork and is surprisingly agile for his size. DJ Burns Jr has scored an average of 24 points in the tournament and scored a total of 29 points against Duke in the Elite Eight. NC State also has Ben Middlebrooks who is a 6’10” junior who scored seven points against Duke but is still a good matchup for Zach Edey. Purdue looks like the more dominant team but even though they do NC State has had a run that starts or really anything can explain. If they win, NC State will be the lowest seed to ever make the finals.
Score Prediction: NC state 72-69
UConn vs Alabama
This game features two good teams but Uconn should definitely win this game because they have had one of the most dominant NCAA tournaments of all time. Alabama took down a great North Carolina team to get into the final four. Alabama is not a cinderella but not too many people had them going this far. UConn won the championship last year and have been amazing all year and through the tournament. Mark Sears is Alabama’s leading scorer with 21.5 points a game and he also leads the team with 1.7 steals per game. Alabama has gone 25-11 this year and finished second in the SEC which includes great teams like Auburn and Kentucky. UConn was the number one team for most of the year as they went 35-3 and won the Big East which is another good conference. Donovan Clingan is one of the best if not the best player for UConn because he leads the team in both block and rebounds and he is one of the best big men in college basketball. UConn leading scorer however is Tristen Newton with 15 points per game.
Score Prediction: 85-72 UConn
The winners of these Final Four games which take place in Phoenix will go onto the National Championship game. The NC State Purdue game starts at 6:09 p.m. on Saturday and the Alabama Uconn game will start at 8:49 p.m. on Saturday. These games will both be played on TBS so hop on the couch and enjoy some great basketball.