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Final Four task: Beating reigning champion UConn will not be an easy task in desert

The 2024 version of March Madness has apexed with a trio of streak busters in the desert. N.C. State is in the Final Four for the first time since Jim Valvano ran around trying to find someone to hug after the 1983 national championship. Purdue and big man Zach Edey will make their first Final Four appearance since Joe Barry Carroll dominated the paint in 1980.

Quick Read

  • N.C. State has reached the Final Four for the first time since 1983, Purdue makes its first appearance since 1980, and Alabama is in the Final Four for the first time ever.
  • UConn, the defending national champion, has dominated its way through the tournament, winning by an average of 27.7 points and aiming to become the first repeat champion since Florida in 2006-07.
  • UConn will face Alabama in the semifinals, with Alabama having led the nation in scoring during the regular season and continuing its high-scoring performances in the NCAA Tournament.
  • The first national semifinal features a matchup between Purdue’s 7-foot-4 Zach Edey, the AP national player of the year, and N.C. State’s 6-foot-9, 275-pound DJ Burns Jr.
  • Edey has been nearly unguardable in the tournament, setting records with his scoring and rebounding, while Burns is the focal point of N.C. State’s offense with his skill and personality.
  • The Final Four will spotlight two teams ending long droughts and a fourth seeking to make history as repeat champions.

The Associated Press has the story:

Final Four task: Beating reigning champion UConn will not be an easy task in desert

Newslooks- (AP)

The 2024 version of March Madness has apexed with a trio of streak busters in the desert. N.C. State is in the Final Four for the first time since Jim Valvano ran around trying to find someone to hug after the 1983 national championship. Purdue and big man Zach Edey will make their first Final Four appearance since Joe Barry Carroll dominated the paint in 1980.

Alabama? Never been.

An angry pack of Huskies awaits them in the Valley of the Sun.

UConn head coach Dan Hurley celebrates with center Donovan Clingan, left, after defeating Illinois following an Elite 8 college basketball game in the men’s NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

Dominating on its way to a fifth national championship a year ago, UConn has looked even more unbeatable so far in its run to become the first repeat champion since Florida in 2006-07.

“Our defense is elite. Our offense is elite. We rebound the ball,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “These guys play every possession like it’s the end of the world.”

UConn center Donovan Clingan (32) celebrates after his dunk against Illinois during the first half of the Elite 8 college basketball game in the men’s NCAA Tournament, Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

The Huskies have done nothing but end opponents’ hopes through consecutive dominating March runs.

UConn steamrolled its way through the 2023 bracket, winning each game by at least 13 points. That was the best since Indiana in 1981.

These Huskies may be better.

Purdue center Zach Edey helps cut down the net after the second half of an Elite Eight college basketball game against Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament, Sunday, March 31, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

With 7-foot-2 Donovan Clingan in the middle and talent across the roster, UConn won its first four NCAA Tournament games by an average of 27.7 points. The Huskies made Illinois look like a JV team in the Elite Eight, reeling off 30 — yes, 30 — straight points in a 77-52 victory to become the first reigning champion to reach the Final Four since Florida’s consecutive titles.

Knocking off UConn will be a monumental task in Glendale, Arizona, starting with Alabama in the semifinals Saturday.

Alabama guard Mark Sears holds the winner’s trophy after defeating Clemson in an Elite 8 college basketball game in the NCAA tournament Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

“His (Hurley’s) formula is working out pretty well,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said. “I’m going to have to figure out that formula myself here soon.”

Oats already has sorted a few things figured out.

The Crimson Tide lost in the Sweet 16 last season, then most of its roster. Oats had three returning players and replaced three assistants who left for head coaching jobs.

Playing fast and letting 3s fly from all over, Alabama led the nation in scoring during the regular season and has kept up the pace in March. Led by heady, gritty point guard Mark Sears, the Crimson Tide scored at least 89 points in three of four NCAA Tournament games, including 109 in the opener against Charleston.

Alabama forward Nick Pringle (23) celebrates after a win over Clemson in an Elite 8 college basketball game in the NCAA tournament Saturday, March 30, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Alabama reached its first Final Four by making 16 3-pointers in an 89-82 win over Clemson in the Elite Eight.

“Guys bought in — we can make this run, other teams have done it,” Oats said. “We have the capability to do it.”

The first national semifinal on Saturday will be big — as in more than 14 feet and 575 pounds of men in the paint.

Purdue has college basketball’s most unstoppable force in Edey.

Purdue center Zach Edey runs back up court after a play during the first half of a Sweet 16 college basketball game against Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament, Friday, March 29, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

At 7-4, he didn’t need a ladder to cut down the nets in Detroit and has the skill to go with his size. Edey was the AP national player of the year last year and the front-runner to become the first player to repeat since Virginia’s Ralph Sampson earned it three straight years from 1980-83.

Edey has been nearly unguardable in the NCAA Tournament, becoming the first player since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor) in 1968 to have at least 50 points and 35 rebounds while shooting 65% from the field the first two games of an NCAA Tournament.

Purdue center Zach Edey (15) reacts after a play during the first half of a Sweet 16 college basketball game against Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament, Friday, March 29, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Edey topped that with a career-high 40 points and 16 rebounds in a 72-66 win over Tennessee that sent the Boilermakers to the Final Four a year after making history by losing to a No. 16 seed.

“Zach’s got a competitive fight to him. He doesn’t back down,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “When you have that elite physical size and you have that competitive spirit with it, with some skill, it’s pretty dangerous. He’s pretty hard to handle.”

So is N.C. State’s DJ Burns Jr.

North Carolina State’s DJ Burns Jr. reacts following an Elite Eight college basketball game against Duke in the NCAA Tournament in Dallas, Sunday, March 31, 2024. North Carolina State won 76-64. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

The 6-9, 275-pounder has a big-sized game and a personality to go with it. He’s the focal point of the Wolfpack offense and opponents have yet to find a way to stop him.

Burns has great footwork, a soft touch and vision to find the open man nearly every time. Combined with the team’s other DJ, Arizona State transfer DJ Horne, N.C. State won five games in five days just to get into the NCAA Tournament and kept rolling into the Final Four as a No. 11 seed.

North Carolina State head coach Kevin Keatts holds the South Regional trophy following an Elite Eight college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament against Duke in Dallas, Sunday, March 31, 2024. North Carolina State won 76-64. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

“DJ Burns has been around for a long time, but his personality, his play has really opened eyes of a lot of folks around the country,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said.

Now the Wolfpack get to play in the game’s biggest spotlight with two other teams who ended long droughts — and a fourth vying for a place in history.

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