Consider that mission accomplished, with lower seeds (in these matchups) holding court more often than not.
Aside from a rout by UConn, the three other games on Thursday night were all close and came down to the final minutes. On Friday evening in the South and Midwest Regions, the NC State Wolfpack kept the good times rolling, with the no. 11 seed advancing with a 67-58 win over Marquette.
Purdue's offense continued to click and Tennessee used a second-half surge to get the higher seeds back on track. But Duke, in a defensive battle, knocked off a no. 1 seed to give the ACC three teams among the last eight standing.
East Region
A rematch of the 2023 title game between the UConn Huskies (34-3) and the San Diego Aztecs in the '24 Sweet 16 provided the same result. The Aztecs hung around in the first half, trailing only by nine, but a blitz by UConn in the second half delivered an 82-52 victory.
Four UConn players scored in double figures and the Huskies controlled the boards with a 50-29 advantage. They had 10 steals in continuing their quest to become the first repeat national champions since the Florida Gators did so in 2006 and '07.
UConn has held all three of their tournament opponents under 60 points, winning games by an average of 28.7 points. Opponents in the tourney have shot only 12-57 from three-point range. The Huskies, meanwhile, are shooting 50.8 percent from the field and have 59 assists against 27 turnovers.
All-American Tristen Newton has 50 points and 22 assists in this year's tournament. Cam Spencer has 44 points and seven steals, with Donovan Clingan and Stephan Castle big contributors, too. Clingan has 41 points and 30 rebounds, with Castle contributing 37 and 18, respectively.
UConn's opponent in the Elite Eight will be no. 3 seed Illinois. The Fighting Illini (29-8) are in their first Elite Eight since 2005, where they went on to lose in the title game to UNC.
Illinois had a much closer game in the Sweet 16, defeating Iowa State 72-69. Turnovers (12) hampered them, as did a 15-29 performance from the free throw line but they did enough to survive.
This was the closest game for Illinois in the tournament. In their first two games, the Fighting Illini shot over 50 percent from the field but were held to 42.1 against the Cyclones. Illinois has 57 assists and 28 turnovers and have held all three opponents to under 70 points.
Terrence Shannon Jr. is averaging 28.3 points per game in the tournament, shooting 29-49 from the field. Max Domask has 41 points, 20 rebounds, and 22 assists, with a triple-double in the opening round. Domask did struggle against Iowa State, shooting 2-11 from the field.
Dain Dainja and Coleman Hawkins are also players to keep an eye on. Dainja is 16-20 from the field and has 36 points and 29 rebounds. Hawkins had a fine game against Iowa State and has 33 points and 18 rebounds in the tournament.
UConn is 2-1 all-time against Illinois, with the two programs last meeting in 1994, a 71-56 victory by the Huskies.
East Region final. Predicted winner in bold:
- (3) Illinois vs (1) UConn - 3/30 on TBS 6:09 p.m. (ET)
West Region
Elite Eight action in the West Region will be giving fans two programs looking for their first-ever Final Four performance.
The Clemson Tigers (24-11) continued to impress with a 77-72 victory over Arizona. The sixth-seed Tigers almost led wire-to-wire, save for a brief Arizona lead in the second half, in moving to their first Elite Eight since 1980.
Clemson has held all three opponents to under 40 percent from the field and held Arizona star Caleb Love to a 5-18 performance. The Tigers are averaging 75.3 points and shot close to 50 percent from the field their last two games. They share the ball (49 assists) while limiting turnovers (30).
Guard Chase Hunter is having quite the tournament, averaging nearly 20 points per game and playing a stifling defense.
PJ Hall and Ian Schieffelin are doing the dirty work inside. Hall has scored 42 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, with Schieffelin contributing 41 points and 25 rebounds. Guard Joseph Girard III, who averages 15.3 points per game, has scored only 24 in three tourney games. Girard is 7-26 from the field (4-18 on three-point attempts) but does have 12 assists against only four turnovers.
The Tigers defense will be put to the test against the Alabama Crimson Tide (24-11). The no. 4 seed defeated UNC 89-87 to advance to only their second-ever Elite Eight (first in 2004).
Top seed UNC looked in control, taking a lead of eight points into the halftime break. But Alabama ratcheted up the pressure, UNC struggled, and the Crimson Tide prevailed (thanks, too, in large part to holding RJ Davis to a 4-20 performance).
Alabama's efficiency on offense has helped propel them. The Crimson Tide have knocked down 32 three-pointers and committed 33 turnovers. While only one opponent has shot above 40 percent, Alabama does have a minus 2 on the boards.
The bench for the Crimson Tide scored 57 points in the first two games but only seven against the Tar Heels. Part of this could be attributed to the lineup shuffling due to the head injury of Latrell Wrightsell.
Stepping up huge in the UNC game was Grant Nelson. Nelson made huge play after huge play, finishing with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and five blocked shots. In the two games prior, both as a starter, Nelson scored only six points and collected two rebounds.
It has been Mark Sears leading the way in the NCAA tourney with 74 points, 18 rebounds, 13 assists, and six steals. Rylan Griffen (41 points) and Aaron Estrada (40 pts, 21 rebounds, 17 assists) also having a fine tournament.
Alabama is 4-8 all-time against Clemson, losing the last three meetings. The teams met back in November, with the Tigers picking up an 85-77 victory.
West Region final. Predicted winner in bold.
- (6) Clemson vs (4) Alabama - 3/30 on TBS 8:49 p.m. (ET)
South Region
The All-ACC regional final has come to fruition.
NC State (25-14) continues to make the double-digit seed line proud. In winning their eighth-straight elimination game, dating back to the ACC tourney, the Wolfpack reached their first Elite Eight since 1986.
Underestimated or not, the Wolfpack's defense is propelling them to victory after victory. Marquette was 4-31 from three-point range and in this tournament, NC State opponents are 23-97. All three have shot under 40 percent from the field.
The Wolfpack have held the rebound advantage in their last two games and their field goal percentage has been better than 45 percent in each NCAA tournament game.
It's been a balanced attack for NC State, where the starters do the majority of the contributing. DJ Horne has 46 points in three games leading the attack out front. In the post, it has been the excellent play on both ends of the court by Mohamed Diarra.
Diarra has scored 39 points and collected 40 rebounds while committing only one turnover.
DJ Burns had an excellent game in the victory over Oakland, filling up the box score with 24 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists. In the other two games, Burns has scored 20 with five rebounds and seven assists.
NC State hopes to reach their first Final Four since 1983 (also the year of their last title) by defeating Duke. The Wolfpack defeated the Blue Devils by five in the ACC tournament after losing to them by 15 a few games prior.
Duke (27-8) is making a surprise run of their own in the 2024 tournament. The Blue Devils faced their stiffest test against the Cougars in a game that was never out of reach for either team. Helping matters along was a first half injury to Houston star Jamal Shead.
Duke led much of the second half and survived a potential game-tying three with seconds left to win 54-51.
The Blue Devils held their first two opponents to under 40 percent on field goal attempts, with Houston only climbing to 40.8. Duke floated just above that percentage themselves, with an effort of 52.4 percent against James Madison sandwiched in.
One of the similar factors among most of these teams is lack of solid contributors off the bench and Duke is no different. Bench players have contributed 25 points in three games, with 14 of those coming in the blowout of the Dukes.
Kyle Filipowski is picking up the pace with each game and now has 33 points and 26 rebounds in three tourney games. Guard Jeremy Roach is leading the way with 43 points and 14 assists.
In the last meeting between the teams, Horne led the Wolfpack with 18 points off the bench and Diarra had 14 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots. Filipowski had 28 points and 14 rebounds but the Blue Devils shot only 5-20 from deep.
South Region final. Predicted winner in bold.
- (11) NC State vs (4) Duke - 3/31 on CBS 5:05 p.m. (ET)
Midwest Region
The Tennessee Volunteers (27-8) certainly kept things interesting in defeating the Creighton Bluejays on Friday night. Tennessee trailed by one at halftime then erupted to begin the second half, going on a 21-4 run. Creighton clawed back to within three at 65-62 but Tennessee was able to hold on for a 82-75 victory to advance to their first Elite Eight since the 2009-10 season.
Tennessee has thus far proven they can win in a variety of ways. Shooting threes (11 each in games one and three), ball control (only four turnovers against Creighton), and defense (opponents in first two games were 11-47 on three-point attempts). Things were evenly matched against Creighton, with only slight advantages giving the Volunteers the nudge. And Tennessee has also proven they can overcome hiccups themselves, like when they shot 33.8 percent (and 3-25 from deep) against Texas.
Dalton Knecht struggled that game (5-18) but has scored 65 points and pulled down 23 rebounds in the tournament. The rest of the lineup is balanced, with multiple starters able to hit double digits on any given night. Zakai Zeigler has had a nice tournament with 35 points and 23 assists.
The Volunteers do have a slightly deeper bench but were without starting guard Santiago Vescovi against Creighton. Vescovi is a top defender and missed the game due to illness.
In searching to reach the first Final Four in program history, Tennessee will have to take down Purdue. The two teams met earlier this season, with Purdue winning by four. Knect had 16 points and seven rebounds in that meeting, when the Volunteers shot 33 percent from the field.
The Purdue Boilermakers (32-4) have had somewhat of a cakewalk in the tourney's first three games. It has not been as easy as UConn's romp but Purdue is still marching forward in style.
In clinching their first Elite Eight appearance since 2019 (with eyes towards first Final Four since 1980), Purdue defeated Gonzaga in the Sweet 16, 80-68. It was another clockwork performance by the Purdue offense, shooting 57.1 percent from the field.
The Boilermakers have been under 50 percent only once, in the opening round against Grambling State, and are 29-67 on three-point attempts. Purdue holds a plus 55 advantage on the boards and has committed only 28 turnovers while dishing out 76 assists.
Dominant performances have become the norm for Purdue All-American Zach Edey. Edey was in usual form against Gonzaga and now has 80 points and 49 rebounds in three tournament games. (He scored 23 points and had 10 rebounds in the first meeting with Tennessee.)
Braden Smith has orchestrated the offense, scoring 30 points and dishing out 31 assists. The three other starters all can score and dish, too, with each scoring in double digits at least once in the last three games.
Midwest Region final. Predicted winner in bold.
- (2) Tennessee vs (1) Purdue - 3/31 on CBS 2:20 p.m. (ET)
My bracket fully crumbled in on itself. I went 4-4 in my Sweet 16 picks, losing three of my four Final Four teams in the process. I only take slight solace my predicted champion in UConn remains.
More from men's 2024 tourney:
- Sweet 16: Cinderella, wherefore art thou?
- Round of 32: Double digit seeds doing work
- Setting the table for UConn repeat
- Stats from ESPN
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