March Insanity 2024: High Storylines and Skilled Picks for Males’s Elite 8 Bracket

The Elite Eight of the NCAA males’s basketball match appears a lot completely different than anybody predicted it could be, which looks as if the case virtually yearly.

Solely one of many 4 matchups scheduled for Saturday and Sunday pits the No. 1 seed versus the No. 2 seed in a area.

Two unlikely tales from the ACC carried over into the Elite Eight, because the Clemson Tigers and NC State Wolfpack continued their runs.

NC State faces a well-recognized foe within the Duke Blue Devils in an all-ACC conflict that feels prefer it needs to be performed contained in the Greensboro Coliseum and never in Dallas.

Clemson’s Elite Eight conflict is a battle of colleges which can be used to dealing with off on the highest degree in soccer. The Alabama Crimson Tide upset the North Carolina Tar Heels and at the moment are the favourite to advance to the Ultimate 4.

Attending to the Ultimate 4 has been a wrestle for Matt Painter and Rick Barnes of their respective teaching careers, however at the very least one in all them will make it from the Purdue-Tennessee conflict.

Can anybody cease the reigning champion Connecticut Huskies?

Thus far, nobody has come near slowing down Danny Hurley’s workforce.

UConn obliterated the San Diego State Aztecs within the Candy 16 to maneuver one step away from a repeat Ultimate 4 look and three wins away from the primary repeat nationwide title for the reason that Florida Gators in 2006 and 2007.

Every little thing appears to be going excellent for the Huskies, which is why many individuals will choose them to cruise into the Ultimate 4.

The Illinois Combating Illini rank second in offensive adjusted effectivity on KenPom and have one of the dynamic shot makers left within the discipline in Terrance Shannon Jr.

The Illini will go in because the clear underdog and which will assist them put together for Saturday’s conflict in Boston, which is able to really feel like a real highway recreation.

“In my 16 years of protecting this, I do not assume I can keep in mind an Elite 8 workforce as unfastened as Illinois is true now,” Dauster stated.

Nevertheless it doesn’t look like many individuals will choose Illinois to down UConn, even when Shannon goes off. The Athletic polled 5 of its writers on the sport and everybody picked the Huskies.

That speaks to UConn’s complete dominance of the NCAA match within the final two years, and even when Shannon goes off, it could possibly decelerate different elements of the Illinois offense to interrupt away.

We’re used to seeing Clemson and Alabama do battle in soccer.

In fact, that was the primary response on Thursday evening when the matchup was set by the upsets over Arizona and North Carolina.

“Identical to the Tigers’ matchup on Thursday evening in opposition to Arizona, this can be a super distinction in kinds. The Crimson Tide need to play as quick as doable whereas Clemson prefers to be gradual and methodical. However keep in mind this: When these two groups met earlier this season in Tuscaloosa, Brad Brownell’s workforce scored 85 factors in an eight-point victory whereas capturing over 50 p.c from each the sector and the three-point line.”

Clemson’s regular-season expertise with Alabama’s high-flying offense ought to assist it put together on the short turnaround for the Crimson Tide.

The Tigers restricted Arizona to 72 factors in a recreation during which the Wildcats struggled to hit something from three-point vary.

KenPom predicts Alabama to beat Clemson 83-81, which might be the highest-scoring recreation of Clemson’s NCAA match run.

Clemson would like to play the sport within the 60s, however which may not be doable in opposition to an Alabama workforce that likes to shoot throughout the first 10-12 seconds of the shot clock.

The one No. 1-versus-No. 2 matchup within the Elite Eight pits two coaches who’ve longed to get to the Ultimate 4 in opposition to one another.

Matt Painter solely acquired Purdue to the Elite Eight on one event since he took over in 2005. Rick Barnes is on the furthest stage of the NCAA match he has been with Tennessee since taking cost in 2015. Barnes took Texas to the Elite Eight twice from 1998-2015.

One coach will lastly get to seem in a Ultimate 4, and there’s a good probability quite a lot of specialists will choose Purdue.

The Boilermakers have been unstoppable attributable to their mixture of Zach Edey down low and terrific capturing guards, like Braden Smith.

Tennessee is led by Northern Colorado switch Dalton Knecht and a handful of skilled gamers that won’t again down from the problem.

Every workforce seemed like championship-caliber sides on Friday after they started the second half with prolonged runs that put away Gonzaga and Creighton.

CBS’ Seth Davis posted on X that “Tennessee is gonna give Purdue all it desires after which some.” ESPN’s Jeff Borzello laid out the stakes for each applications who’re attempting to finish Ultimate 4 droughts.

The ultimate Elite Eight contest has the texture of a Saturday evening matchup within the ACC match.

Duke and NC State hardly ever are anticipated to sq. off at this stage of the NCAA match. Often that’s reserved for the Blue Devils and North Carolina.

NC State is the Cinderella story of the match because the lone double-digit seed remaining.

The Wolfpack gained 5 video games in 5 days to win the ACC match and a ninth win in a row would miraculously put them into the Ultimate 4.

Nonetheless, Duke appears like a nationwide title contender with Kyle Filipowski down low and an amazing guard lineup led by Jared McCain.

KenPom predicts the Blue Devils will by 9 factors. Duke beat NC State 79-64 within the common season, whereas the Wolfpack downed the Blue Devils within the ACC match quarterfinals.

A Ultimate 4 berth for Duke would create a wave of momentum for this system below Jon Scheyer, as CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander hinted at.

Duke is barely a six-point favourite, but when it smothers NC State prefer it did on March 4, it might have the biggest margin of victory throughout the 4 Elite Eight contests.