2024 men’s Final Four features a quartet of sensational storylines

UW is likely to beat Alabama by 11.5 points, Purdue is favored to beat North Carolina State by 9 points, and the 2024 Men’s Final Four will be in double digits in both semifinal games. The spread is dangerously close to becoming the first in tournament history to record a spread of .

Still, there’s plenty of reason to believe this Final Four will finally prove itself. The stories surrounding each of his four surviving teams are just too good.

Let’s take a look at each.

Purdue

There are two main storylines for this Purdue team.

The first is that the Boilermakers may hold the dubious title of the best program in college basketball history, even though they have never won a national championship. He’s two wins away from taking them out of that conversation for good.

The second, and I think a more interesting storyline, is that Purdue is two wins away from emulating the 2019 Virginia Cavaliers and creating one of the strangest March Madness “trends” in history. .

Of course, Virginia and Purdue are the only two teams in NCAA Tournament history to lose to a 16 seed in the first round while earning a No. 1 seed. UVA bounced back from the wrong side of history in the most extreme way and went on a thrilling run to win the program’s first national title a year later.

Like Virginia, Purdue was able to regain most of its production from the previous year despite the sadness and embarrassment of March Madness.

Like Virginia, Purdue bounced back from an early-game humiliation to win its conference regular season championship.

Like Virginia, Purdue lost in the semifinals a year after winning the conference tournament.

Like Virginie, Purdue earned the No. 1 seed on Selection Sunday for the second year in a row.

What is Virginia’s total number of wins when it reaches the Final Four? 33.

What is Purdue’s total number of wins before reaching the Final Four? 33.

The only obvious contrast here is that Virginia was pushed to the brink with both the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight wins, while Purdue’s only real test so far came in the regional finals against Tennessee. Yes, and even that was a game the Boilermakers controlled. The last few minutes.

If Purdue can beat NC State, whoever comes in two nights later, the next coach of a team that fell to a 1/16 matchup will make a hell of a pitch to get players back next season. It’s going to happen.

university university

Not only is UW seeking the first national championship in men’s college basketball since the University of Florida won back-to-back titles in 2006-2007, but the Huskies are even more dominant than their historic run a year ago. We are aiming for this in a certain way.

Only three teams in March Madness history have been better than this year’s UConn through the first four rounds of the tournament.

The Huskies are also the third team in tournament history to win both of their last two games to advance to the Final Four by 25 points or more.

The similarities between Virginia in 2019 and Purdue in 2024 are huge, but the similarities between this UConn group and a Florida team that scored back-to-back goals aren’t real. There is no.

What Billy Donovan tried to do at the University of Florida 17 years ago is nearly impossible in today’s college game. The top five scorers on the 2006 national title team, Joakim Noah, Taurean Green, Corey Brewer, Al Horford, Lee Humphrey, Kris Richard, and Walter Hodge, will all start over for another year in Gainesville. I decided to do so.

Hurley was fortunate to return three key contributors from the national title team, but his two leading scorers, Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins, are currently playing in the NBA. Without a key transfer addition in Cam Spencer and a freshman in long-time player Stephon Castle, a repeat likely wouldn’t be possible.

While the toughest tournament play is likely still ahead, what UW has already accomplished in the Big Dance defies recent history.

Four teams who have been national champions since 2011 earned the No. 1 seed in the year immediately after winning the title: Duke in 2011, Villanova in 2017, Baylor in 2022, and Kansas last season. It’s big. He was the only one of them to survive the opening weekend of the tournament. In fact, UConn is the first reigning national champion to reach the regional finals since Florida won back-to-back titles in 2007.

I don’t think any of this is a fluke. Since the season began in November, UW has been a step ahead of the rest of the nation. They’re not perfect, but their combination of depth, experience, next-level talent, and coaching in Hurley leaves them with fewer unchecked boxes than any team in the country.

The only thing left for them is to make history over the next four days in Glendale…maybe more than one kind of history.

Alabama

The debate over the lack of star power in college basketball is nothing new. First it was the ’90s trend of more players leaving early for the NBA, then it was the “one-and-done” rule, and now it’s the transfer portal and the NIL.

The reality is that coaches have been the stars of the sport for decades. Even a rare talent in college hoops has a limited lifespan, staying in the same place for 3-4 years, so coaches from the best programs are usually the main protagonists of the sport, and the biggest It becomes a brand.

After years of anticipating it, we’ve finally arrived at the “next wave” moment of college basketball’s great coaches.

In recent years, Hall of Famers Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, Jim Boeheim, and perhaps most surprisingly, Jay Wright have all stepped away from the game. All remaining legends are beginning to show signs of decline. Michigan State’s Tom Izzo could still pick up a win or two in March, but each of his last four Spartans teams have lost at least 13 games. John Calipari has won just one NCAA Tournament game with Kentucky since 2019, a fact that raises questions about whether the Big Blue Nation can terminate Coach Cal’s “lifetime contract” in Lexington. I’m thinking. Tony Bennett and Virginia haven’t won a game in the NCAA Tournament since winning the 2019 national championship.

So who’s next?

Well, Bill Self is still doing his thing in Kansas, so there he is. UW’s Danny Hurley, who is two wins away from winning the national championship, appears to be at the forefront of the next wave. Matt Painter is 53 years old, and making it to his first Final Four is probably the turning point that will allow him to emerge as one of the leading men in the sport for the next 10 to 15 years. . John Scheyer is only 36 years old and led Duke to the Elite Eight in his second year.

And then there’s Nate Oates.

Oats, 49, is an outspoken, forward-thinking player who plays one of the most modern-style offenses. hired We brought in a third-party analytics company to gain insight as the team progressed through the tournament.

Oats won back-to-back tournaments with Buffalo, led Alabama to the Sweet 16 in his second year and led the Tide to the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament last season. His one box he hasn’t checked yet was making it to the sport’s biggest stage.

That’s now in check, and Oats, who received a nice benefit from Bama in the contract extension he signed last month, is now firmly established as one of the coaches leading college basketball into its next era.

Two more wins will add even more depth.

north carolina

North Carolina State is back in the Final Four since 1983 and is seeking the most unlikely national championship since North Carolina State in 1983.

Realistically, this team will supplant Valvano’s Wolfpack squad and every other national champion in the history of the sport for the title of ultimate weird champion.

Most people have heard the story by now.

On March 12, North Carolina State suffered one loss on the road to Louisville after one of the most disappointing seasons in recent history and the possibility of firing head coach Kevin Keatts. became. On the first day of the ACC tournament, the Wolfpack came back and defeated the Cardinals, but the game was largely ignored by the sports world and seemingly quickly forgotten by those who were paying attention.

State defeated Syracuse the next day, surprised Duke the next day, and defeated Virginia in the semifinals. Wild game tying shot at end regulationand defeated ACC final boss North Carolina to win the league tournament for the first time since 1987 and earn a ticket to the Big Dance.

In an incredible run, the Wolfpack won five games in five days and became just the second team in college basketball history to win a conference tournament title. Their company? The 2010-11 Connecticut Huskies used the momentum from winning the Big East Tournament to win six more games and win the national championship.

The Pack had already lost 14 games before the ACC Tournament began, and had they been eliminated at any point, they would have had a hard time earning an invitation to the NIT, let alone the NCAA Tournament. It’s a team. DC, it was a good story, but it wasn’t. that’s good.

Or so we thought.

Since the ACC Tournament opener on March 12, North Carolina State has looked like a different team — a phrase that gets thrown around a lot this time of year, but rarely more applicable than it is — a completely different team. is. The team entered the postseason on a four-game losing streak, defeating Texas Tech (13), Cinderella Oakland, second-seeded Marquette (9), and hated Duke (12). He finished 6th at 11th place. Seeds to advance to the final four. Their 14 losses are the most of any team they have faced in the national semifinals.

None of the other 11 seeds that made it this far were able to win their next match. At this point, it would be foolish to think DJ Burns and his ilk can’t buck that trend.