Current:Home > FinanceWhat Final Four games are today? Breaking down the NCAA Tournament semifinals of March Madness -Wealth Impact Academy
What Final Four games are today? Breaking down the NCAA Tournament semifinals of March Madness
View
Date:2025-04-23 06:53:51
The Final Four is here, and each member of the quartet that will compete for the NCAA men’s basketball title in Glendale, Ariz., has its own story.
There is the rookie, the first-time semifinalist representing a school best known for its prowess in another sport. Then there’s the power conference program looking to replicate its unlikely underdog run to a championship from nearly half a century ago. Next is the team seeking to tread the same path of redemption as the last 16-seed upset victim. Finally, there’s the program in search of the first back-to-back crowns in nearly two decades.
Whichever team prevails, we as spectators hope for compelling theater and entertaining basketball. Here are the matchups.
No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 11 North Carolina State, 6:09 p.m. ET, TBS
Perhaps nothing illustrates the ridiculous unpredictability of college basketball better than the Wolfpack, a team that entered the ACC tournament as the No. 10 seed with 14 losses on its ledger, being in the national semifinals. The Boilermakers, though once again a top seed, know a little something about that unpredictability after last season’s untimely exit from the March stage at the hands of Fairleigh Dickinson. Purdue has handled this year’s tourney in more businesslike fashion, but the result here is anything but guaranteed. The marquee matchup pits Boilermakers big man Zach Edey, the repeat national player of the year, against N.C. State’s overnight sensation D.J. Burns. Burns will be giving up seven inches to Edey but has demonstrated deft footwork and quickness that might allow him to get his shots up despite being challenged. He might do better, however, to pass out of the post and hope D.J. Horne, Casey Morsell and Michael O’Connell continue to knock down treys. Edey is also an accomplished passer when teams frequently elect to double team him, and Fletcher Loyer and Lance Jones have also been hitting from long range. But it is Braden Smith that holds the whole operation together for Purdue. In his sophomore campaign he has increased his assist average to 7.5 a game while cutting down on turnovers. N.C. State will have to bother his entry passes enough to limit Edey’s touches as much as possible.
FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA basketball bracket, scores, schedules, teams and more.
No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 4 Alabama, 8:49 p.m. ET, TBS
The Huskies’ trip to the desert proved more of a challenge off the court than on it, but now that they’ve arrived their bid to go back-to-back continues. The Crimson Tide, regular playoff participants in football, hope to make their first Final Four experience last a couple extra days. UConn’s M.O. was on devastating display in its regional final triumph against Illinois, using its lock-down defense to keep the game in hand until its offense started working. Alabama can generate points in a variety of ways, but its driving game might not be as reliable with UConn’s big Donovan Clingan manning the paint. It will therefore be incumbent upon Mark Sears and Rylan Griffen to find their touch from the arc quickly. But the Huskies also have shooters like Cam Spencer and Alex Karaban who can get hot at any time. About the only thing we don’t know about UConn is if it can execute its end game when it’s close, something it hasn’t needed to do since the Big East tournament semifinal.
veryGood! (6577)
Related
- Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
- NASA reschedules Boeing's Starliner launch for later this week
- WNBA upgrades foul on Caitlin Clark by Chennedy Carter, fines Angel Reese for no postgame interview
- Powerball winning numbers for June 1 drawing: Jackpot climbs to $171 million
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Orson Merrick: Some American investment concepts that you should understand
- West Virginia hotel where several people were sickened had no carbon monoxide detectors
- Jeremy Renner's 'blessing': His miracle 'Mayor of Kingstown' return from near-death accident
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Armed Groups Use Deforestation as a Bargaining Chip in Colombia
Ranking
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- Monster truck clips aerial power line, toppling utility poles in spectator area
- Mental health is another battlefront for Ukrainians in Russian war
- Firefighters make progress, but wildfire east of San Francisco grows to 14,000 acres
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Mass shooting leaves one dead, 24 hurt in Akron, Ohio; police plead for community help
- Shocking revelations from 'Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson' Lifetime documentary
- 'It needs to stop!' Fever GM, coach have seen enough hard fouls on Caitlin Clark
Recommendation
Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
Gabby Petito's Mom Forgives Brian Laundrie for Killing Her Daughter But Not His Evil Mother
Stanford reaches Women's College World Series semifinals, eliminates Pac-12 rival UCLA
Gabby Douglas says this is 'not the end' of gymnastics story, thanks fans for support
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
GameStop leaps in premarket as Roaring Kitty may hold large position
South Africa's ANC ruling party that freed country from apartheid loses its 30-year majority
Maya Hawke on her new music, dropping out of Juilliard and collaborating with dad, Ethan