The NCAA Mens’ College Basketball tournament is down to four teams remaining. It has been a wild two weekends of action on the hardwood. Let’s take a look at the most recent weekend of the NCAA March Madness Bracket; the Elite 8 Weekend recap:
Connecticut Huskies 77-52 over Illinois Fighting Illini
The March Madness Elite 8 action got started in Boston.
It was 23-23 just before the halftime break in Boston. The Huskies scored the final five points of the first half to take a small lead. Then, the second half was an avalanche. Connecticut scored the first 25 points and led 53-23. The game was over at that point.
The Huskies won their 10th straight NCAA Tournament game by double digits. Danny Hurley’s bunch blocked 10 shots in the game. Big man Donovan Clingan had 5 of the blocked shots and scored 22 points in the game. The Huskies’ defense held the Illini’s top scorer Terrance Shannon Jr to just 8 points, as he was 2 for 12 from the field. Marcus Domask led the Illini with 17 points in the game.
Illinois finished the season at 29-9 on the season, while UConn moved to 35-3 and a second straight trip to the NCAA Final Four. The Huskies are the favorite when looking at scores and odds to win March Madness.
Alabama Crimson Tide 89-82 over Clemson Tigers
The March Madness Elite 8 schedule saw game two from Los Angeles. Brad Brownell and his Clemson Tigers won the first meeting between these two teams. The second meeting was a different story. The Alabama Crimson Tide won their 25th game of the season as they scored 54 second-half points.
The offense saw their leading scorer Mark Sears score 23 points, while Jarin Stevenson came off the bench and added 19. Alabama made a total of 16 three-point shots in the game. For Clemson, Joe Girad was solid with five made three-point shots, and a total of 19 points. Ian Schieffelin recorded a double-double in the game with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The loss ended the season for the Tigers at 24-12. Alabama went to 25-11 with the win. The Crimson Tide will now get the next opportunity to take on the Connecticut Huskies, as they head to Phoenix.
Purdue Boilermakers 82-76 over Tennessee Volunteers
The NCAAB schedule for Sunday saw this game from Detroit. In what was most likely the game of the weekend; the Purdue Boilermakers used 40 points from their big man Zach Edey to get to the Final Four for the first time since 1980. Edey was terrific, with 16 rebounds as well, and went 14-22 from the free throw line.
The Tennessee Volunteers had a monster game from their star player Dalton Knecht, who ended with 37 points. The Volunteers made 11 three-point shots in the game. Zakail Zeigler was 1 for 8 from deep and 3 for 12 from the field. Purdue, after winning the Big Ten regular season title got some revenge from their first-round loss a season ago.
Purdue will now get a chance in Phoenix against the 11th-seeded North Carolina State WolfPack.
North Carolina State WolfPack 76-64 over Duke Blue Devils
It was the third time these two teams met in March. It was the rubber match. After the first 20 minutes of the game, it was all WolfPack. North Carolina State discord 55 points in the second half.
Big man DJ Burns was outstanding, as he scored 29 points and ripped down 4 rebounds. For Duke, Jared McCain was fantastic for the Blue Devils, as he went for 32 points in the game. North Carolina State picked up five wins in five days to get to the NCAA Tournament, and now have wins over Texas Tech, Oakland, Marquette and then Duke.
Now, the Wolf Pack will get a top seed in the tournament, as they take on Matt Painter’s Purdue Boilermakers.
There you have it. That is an Elite 8 Weekend Recap of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament. The final four will take place in Arizona this weekend, with two games on Saturday and the title game on Monday.
The WolfPack and Boilermakers tip it off just after 3:00 pm local time, while the Crimson Tide and Huskies will come up after. Phoenix is going to be rocking this weekend! Best of luck with all of your College Basketball picks and enjoy the NCAAB matchups!
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