Our 2024 March Madness Final 4 is set with Alabama vs UConn and Purdue vs NC State.
Starting off with the Purdue game, I predict that Purdue is definitely going to get the win over NC State.
The Wolfpack has had a very pretty Cinderella story as they almost didn’t even make the tournament, eventually getting in as a No. 11 seed. This year’s Purdue team is one of the best March Madness teams we have ever seen.
Boilermakers senior center Zach Edey has been putting the team on his back averaging 25 points and 12 rebounds. He is first in points average and 6th in rebound average. Many people argue that the only reason he is good is because he is tall… 7-foot-4 tall.
Yes, this is true but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he is good. That argument is the same as saying Tyreek Hill is only good because he’s fast. Edey is able to easily dominate every player he is up against in the paint. He either gets the bucket or draws the foul on the defense. In Purdue’s big game against No.2 seed Tennessee, Edey put up a career high of 40 points and 16 rebounds. This is crazy because Purdue put up 72 points in the game, meaning that Edey had more than half of their points.
NC State was able to pull off a 55-37 run against Duke in the second half. I can’t imagine Purdue letting anything like this happen and I think Purdue will have the lead for the whole game. I also dont think DJ Burns will be able to put up as many points as he did against Duke. This is because Edey is going to lock him down.
For my prediction of UConn vs Alabama: I think that UConn is going to pummel Alabama. While Alabama has in fact looked very good against teams like Clemson, they haven’t faced a threat as great as UConn.
I think that UConn’s defense is going to over power Alabama as they held the No.4 4 offense, Gonzaga to only .75 points per possession. Alabama is also a very 3 point dominant team and UConn’s defense is set up to stop the three point ball.
We were able to see this defense in action against Gonzaga who is also a very three-point dominant team. Alabama’s defense also is one of the worst defenses in the tournament as the practically play no defense and just offense.
UConn’s top 5 offense will easily be able to put up lots of points on Alabama. Alabama also isn’t very good at taking midrange shots as they are only solid at three pointers and lays. I also think that Alabama has the chance to keep it close as they are very solid at scoring in transition and UConn has let up lots of points on transitions. However I still think UConn will dominate this game and they will roll the tide.
