The stage is set in Phoenix. The men’s NCAA tournament started at 68 teams and only a few are left standing. One of those teams will walk away with a national championship on Monday.
Purdue punched the first ticket to the title game with another dominant performance against No. 11 seed NC State. The Boilermakers got 20 points and 12 rebounds from star center Zach Edey, but their defensive effort was the difference in a 63-50 win. Purdue is now one win away from avenging its embarrassing season a year ago when it lost to No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson in the opening round of the tournament.
In the late game, it’s No. 1 overall seed and defending champion UConn vs. Alabama. UConn is the heavy favorite to win it all again behind a balanced and versatile roster that’s all held together by point guard Tristen Newton. The Huskies will have to contend with the high-flying offense of Alabama, which is making its first Final Four appearance in program history.
Who will be left standing at the end of the night? Follow along here as it all unfolds.
UConn responds to Alabama’s second 7-0 run with an 8-0 run. This is quite the second half so far. Huskies lead 64-56 after Alabama had gotten the game tied at 56-56.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Alabama has achieved something that none of UConn’s previous NCAA tournament opponents have: Putting actual second-half game pressure on the Huskies.
Grant Nelson’s baby hook in the lane capped a 9-1 Alabama surge and tied the score at 56 with just over 12 minutes remaining.
Alabama has its second 7-0 run of the second half and has cut UConn’s lead to one again.
Alabama cut UConn’s lead to 48-47 … and the Huskies now lead 55-47 with 15:31 to go. Each team has had a pair of 7-0 runs already this half.
Mark Sears picks up his third foul as Alabama cuts what was an 8-point UConn lead to one.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — UConn may yet unleash a killshot, but credit Alabama’s Mark Sears for staving it off until at least the second half.
Sears hit two big shots to keep Alabama breathing, the first a corner 3-pointer to halt a UConn surge and the second a twisting scoop shot in the lane to close the halftime gap to four.
Sears leads Alabama with 11 points and is one of five Crimson Tide players to have hit a 3-pointer. Alabama may need to duplicate its 8-for-11 first-half 3-point shooting in the second half to make this a game down the stretch.
There are reasons for both teams to be optimistic heading into the second half.
For Alabama: The Tide wasn’t overwhelmed by UConn and has held the Huskies to below 50% shooting. Alabama is also hanging with the Huskies on the boards too.
For UConn: Alabama shot 8 of 11 from behind the 3-point line while the Huskies were just 5 of 15. And UConn still leads by four.
Halftime: UConn leads Alabama 44-40
Alabama coach Nate Oats played Mark Sears and Grant Nelson for much of the first half with two fouls each and it worked out extremely well for the Crimson Tide.
UConn has stretched the lead to 7 with a minute to go before halftime.
UConn leads Alabama 35-31 at the under-4 timeout of the first half.
Alabama is shooting 7 of 10 from the 3-point line.
Alex Karaban just got called for his second foul as Rylan Griffen slipped going up for a layup. It’s hard to see how that was actually a foul. Karaban was in disbelief.
Mark Sears just picked up two quick fouls for Alabama. He joins Grant Nelson with two fouls. Both players are still on the floor.
Grant Nelson is back in for Alabama with two fouls. Props to Nate Oats for not sitting him the rest of the first half.
The Crimson Tide and Huskies are tied 28-28 with 7:31 to go before halftime. This game has been great so far.
Cling Kong Slam
Alabama is trying to spread UConn out on offense and it’s working. The Tide love to shoot from behind the arc and are 5 of 7 through the first quarter of the game.
Alabama leads UConn 23-20 at the second TV timeout.
Latrell Wrightsell is back on the court for Alabama after suffering a head injury earlier in the tournament. And his 3-pointer has given Alabama an 18-15 lead.
Grant Nelson has picked up his second foul for Alabama. There’s 13:41 left in the first half
What a fun start to the second semifinal. Alabama scored first — yes, UConn actually trailed — and the Huskies lead 13-8 at the first TV timeout.
It’s a quick early pace as Donovan Clingan announces himself.
We are underway with UConn and Alabama!
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Zach Edey chuckled when I asked him what DJ Burns said to him here.
“I’m going to keep that between us,” the 7-foot-4 Purdue center said. “But he’s a good guy.”
DJ Burns has been in Zach Edey’s ear since the start of the game and talking nonstop. Cracking jokes during a dead ball and making Edey laugh 😂 pic.twitter.com/w9TVIILHsu
Is UConn beatable? Here’s how the other remaining Final Four men’s teams stack up
As we wait for gametime, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Eisenberg broke down Alabama and Purdue’s chances of knocking off the defending champs earlier this week:
UConn vs. Everybody (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports)
We’re minutes away from the tip-off of Alabama-Connecticut.
Zach Edey finishes with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Purdue shot 40% from the 3-point line after NC State’s tournament opponents were shooting under 30% through the first four tournament games.
DJ Horne had 20 for NC State. DJ Burns only had 8 and was 4 of 10 from the field.
Final: Purdue 63, NC State 50
The Boilermakers advance to the national title game! Zach Edey leads the way with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
It’s final. Purdue is heading to the national title game while NC State’s incredible streak is over. The Wolfpack’s nine-game win streak is over and the Boilermakers will play the winner of UConn and Alabama on Monday night.
Purdue 63, NC State 50
As Purdue leads 61-43 with less than four minutes to go, it’s worth noting that the streak of No. 11 seeds in the Final Four will live on barring a miraculous comeback for NC State.
All five of the previous of the No. 11 seeds that have made it to the Final Four have lost in the semifinals.
This could be the shot that sends Purdue to the national title game. Zach Edey adeptly passed out of a double team to find a wide-open Fletcher Loyer for a 3-pointer and a 15-point lead.
The NC State comeback attempt is not going well. The Wolfpack trail 55-43 with 5:03 to go after DJ Horne just airballed a 3-pointer
NC State is trying to chip away at Purdue’s lead. The Boilermakers lead 49-42 with 7:37 to go. NC State has made pushes multiple times in this game, but Purdue has swatted the Wolfpack away. Will that trend continue?
Zach Edey just hit his first shot of the second half. His fourth hook shot over DJ Burns extends Purdue’s lead to 47-35 with 11:32 remaining. His first bucket since the 4:42 mark of the first half.
Zach Edey’s a non-factor as a scorer right now, but it doesn’t matter. All three of Purdue’s second-half field goals have been 3-pointers. Lance Jones’ fourth 3 of the game just extended Purdue’s lead to 45-33.
NC State’s countered with four points in the first 7:20 of the half. The Wolfpack need a run soon, or Purdue could run away it.
Ben Middlebrooks and DJ Burns each now have three fouls each. Trouble for Zach Edey’s primary defenders, who have done a good job of slowing Edey since midway through the first half.
Zach Edey’s scoreless in the second half at the first TV timeout. NC State made some halftime adjustments to deny him the ball in position. Purdue leads, 39-33.
DJ Horne just shot NC State’s first two free-throw attempts of the night. He hit both to cut Purdue’s lead to 39-33 with 16:14 left in the second half.
DJ Burns just gave Zach Edey a dose of his bully ball, backed him up in the low post for a baseline layup for NC State’s first bucket of the half.
DJ Burns picks up his third foul less than two minutes into the second half. He’s staying in the game.
Lance Jones starts the second-half scoring with his third 3-pointer of the game. Purdue’s lead extended to 38-
Highlight reel of the game’s leading scorers DJ Horne (13 points) and Zach Edey (14 points):
Braden Smith is struggling. The Purdue point guard is 0 for 6 from the field. He has five turnovers including a pair of backcourt violations — and zero points.
Backup Ben Middlebrooks has shown more success than Burns defending Edey and forced one of Purdue’s eight turnovers in the half on a swipe of Edey in the post.
Purdue — which is second in the nation in 3-point success (40.6%) — is 5 of 12 (41.7%) from 3 at halftime.
DJ Horne — not Burns — is the story of NC State’s offense so far. The senior guard has 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field.
Zach Edey unsurprisingly leads the way for Purdue with 14 points and eight rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting. Burns has struggled to combat Edey’s height and missed the last several minutes of the half after picking up his second foul on an Edey hook shot.
NC State’s not going away. A team that’s won nine-straight elimination games and rallied for a dominant second half to top rival Duke in the Elite Eight has cut a double-digit deficit to six points at the half. Purdue lead, 35-29 at the break.
Backup Ben Middlebrooks has shown some success defending Zach Edey with DJ Burns on the bench with two fouls. Purdue’s lead was just three points before a Fletcher Loyer 3 doubled the margin on Purdue’s last possession of the half.
A much-needed surge here for the Wolfpack. They’ve hit four out of five shots including a Jayden Taylor 3-pointer to cut Purdue’s lead to 30-25.
A lot’s going right for Purdue in the first half, including success from long distance. The nation’s best 3-point shooting team is 4 for 10 from beyond the arc late in the half. 28-18 lead for the Boilermakers.
Here’s a good size comparison between the 7-4, 300-pound Edey and the 6-9, 275-pound DJ Burns.
Zach Edey’s fourth hook shot over DJ Burns didn’t connect. But it did draw Burns’ second foul. Purdue leads, 26-16 with 6:29 remaining in the half. Free throws from Edey up next after a timeout.
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