2024 NCAA Final Four

[greenminer]

The F4 is set.  Who do you think wins it?

[CMJ]

Connecticut.  They are a machine.

 

My hope for a champion is probably Purdue.  They have a storied history but have yet to win a title.  NC State would also be great given the run they're on - though up until the mid 80s, they were arguably at "blue blood adjacent" level.  

 

Alabama has won enough in football recently, they don't need to run the basketball world too.  Connecticut is quickly moving up the list of all time titles won, so I'd prefer they don't get another right now.

Edited April 3 by CMJ

[MeanGreen22]

I just don’t see how UConn loses. Maybe the best team since the 05-06/06-07 Florida Gators. 

[MeanGreenTexan]

NC State is “that damn team”.   Playing with utmost confidence, and complete belief they’re going to win the second they hit the floor.  I would not be surprised if they beat Purdue.

That said, UConn is a special team.  I’d be surprised if they don’t cut down the nets.

[Andrew]

Well… I had Purdue beating Arizona…. So I guess I need Purdue to win. 

[DeepGreen]

Purdue

[NorthTexasWeLove]

The easy team to root for is obviously NC State. They are taking the path of their 1983 team led by Jimmy V. My rooring interest is with them. 

The favorite is clearly UCONN. 

Purdue has a punchers chance. 

Alabama: they'll have to hit 30+ combined 3s in Phoenix to cut down nets. They are a 3 ball team, so it's possibly, but unlikely. 

[NT93]

50 minutes ago, NorthTexasWeLove said:

The easy team to root for is obviously NC State. They are taking the path of their 1983 team led by Jimmy V. My rooring interest is with them. 

The favorite is clearly UCONN. 

Purdue has a punchers chance. 

Alabama: they'll have to hit 30+ combined 3s in Phoenix to cut down nets. They are a 3 ball team, so it's possibly, but unlikely. 

I agree with all of this. 
 

I saw an interview with #14, Casey Morsell, for NC St. after, I believe, their 2nd win in the ACC tournament.  I don’t remember exactly what he said, but it made me think that they weren’t a fluke…and more importantly, they didn’t think they were a fluke.  They knew they were good and they expected to win.

But…

I had them losing to Tech in the 1st round. 

[GBarksdale]

I picked NC State.  It was a heart vote.  My head tells me it'll probably be UConn.  But I have to go with the team that knocked out Duke.

[Matt from A700]

UConn over Purdue.

Order of who I WANT to win: NC State, Purdue, Bama, UConn

I don't hate the UConn men's program as much as Kansas or Duke yet so I wouldn't mind if they won again.

[CMJ]

2 hours ago, Matt from A700 said:

UConn over Purdue.

Order of who I WANT to win: NC State, Purdue, Bama, UConn

I don't hate the UConn men's program as much as Kansas or Duke yet so I wouldn't mind if they won again.

I honestly don't get why Connecticut has flown under the radar for most.  They've won more titles the last 30 years than anyone.

[Matt from A700]

12 minutes ago, CMJ said:

I honestly don't get why Connecticut has flown under the radar for most.  They've won more titles the last 30 years than anyone.

Maybe because the titles have always been nearly a decade apart and they're usually not relevant in between lol.

[CMJ]

11 minutes ago, Matt from A700 said:

Maybe because the titles have always been nearly a decade apart and they're usually not relevant in between lol.

I mean....that's not true though.  Titles in 1999, 2004, 2011, 2014....they were winning them about every five years until having a nearly ten year gap.

 

And now they're likely to go back to back and have more titles than both Duke and Kansas, tying UNC.  They're gonna catch Kentucky soon at this rate.

Edited April 4 by CMJ

[GrandGreen]

What a final four, many could have picked this lineup before the first game.

Shows you how stale the sport has gotten, and how money almost always dictates the winners.  Basketball is getting as predictable as football despite having about three times the teams. 

[CMJ]

4 minutes ago, GrandGreen said:

What a final four, many could have picked this lineup before the first game.

Shows you how stale the sport has gotten, and how money almost always dictates the winners.  Basketball is getting as predictable as football despite having about three times the teams. 

Who would have picked NC State?  They were an 11 seed.

 

Last year's Final Four was a total cluster.  Sometimes that happens and sometimes it's more chalk.  

[NT93]

4 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

What a final four, many could have picked this lineup before the first game.

Shows you how stale the sport has gotten, and how money almost always dictates the winners.  Basketball is getting as predictable as football despite having about three times the teams. 

NC St, Purdue, and UConn are not the schools I think of when I hear “money almost always dictates the winners.”

[UNTLifer]

4 hours ago, CMJ said:

Who would have picked NC State?  They were an 11 seed.

And they entered the post season on a four game losing streak. 

[NorthTexasWeLove]

On 4/4/2024 at 2:28 PM, Matt from A700 said:

Maybe because the titles have always been nearly a decade apart and they're usually not relevant in between lol.

They've won 5 in 25 years, and will probably soon make it 6 in 25 years. 10 s16 in that same timeframe. Best program this century. They had some poor years in between here and there when they were trying to let a coach (Kevin Ollie) who won them a title early in his tenure try to figure it out, but was then caught cheating and ultimately fired. Hurley came in and cleaned house and struggled early, but now has it turned into a machine. 

[NorthTexasWeLove]

On 4/4/2024 at 11:14 PM, NT93 said:

NC St, Purdue, and UConn are not the schools I think of when I hear “money almost always dictates the winners.”

Uconn sort of is... they basically relegated their football program into irrelevance so they could get their basketball program back into the Big East. That's an administrative decision to dictate success in basketball. Purdue has an ogre that has stayed committed to them while improving year over year. NC State fancies themselves as a basketball school and they got hot. That's basically 3 universities that really hone in on basketball, a la basketball schools. 

Then Alabama - 3 ball game. When they're poppin 3s they are very difficult to deal with. If they shoot average or less from 3 they're very beatable. They can win and lose by 20 all the same. 

[CMJ]

Credit to Alabama - they gave Connecticut a great game (the final score isn't really representative).  Purdue was actually more impressive yesterday.  I still thank UCONN is the favorite tomorrow, but I give the Boilers a decent shot now.

[NT93]

12 minutes ago, CMJ said:

Credit to Alabama - they gave Connecticut a great game (the final score isn't really representative).  Purdue was actually more impressive yesterday.  I still thank UCONN is the favorite tomorrow, but I give the Boilers a decent shot now.

I’m pretty anti-Alabama in any sport, but I have to admit, they were a fun team to watch.  

[BigWillie]

Can we have a 5th option.... "Don't care"?

[greenminer]

2 hours ago, BigWillie said:

Can we have a 5th option.... "Don't care"?

It's there, I just didn't care enough to make the option visible.

[CMJ]

Man, I really am starting to hate Connecticut, but they are second to none, no question.

[NT93]

The Big East rules.