The field of 68 teams in the NCAA men's basketball tournament has been cut down to the Final Four.
And it features some great storylines.
Starting with the UConn Huskies, who will be looking to repeat as national champions. The last time a team won back-to-back titles, was the Florida Gators in 2006 and 2007.
This year's Final Four will feature two No. 1 seeds, UConn and the Purdue Boilermakers, but with both teams on opposite sides of the bracket, there's no guarantee a top seed will make it to the finals.
Two teams will be making their first appearances since the early-1980's (Purdue and North Carolina State) and the Alabama Crimson Tide will be making it's first-ever appearance in school history.
The final three games of the 2023-34 season will be broadcasted on CBS.
(1) Purdue Boilermakers (33-4) vs. (11) North Carolina State Wolfpack (26-14)
Date: Saturday, April 6
Time: 6:09 P.M.
It's been quite the redemption arc for the top-seeded Boliermakers. Last season, Purdue came into the tournament as a No. 1 seed, but fell to16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson in a stunner.
But this season, the Boliermakers took care of business by taking care of business and powering past Tennessee on Sunday to reach their first Final Four since 1980.
North Carolina State is making their first appearance in a Final Four since 1983, where the late Jim Valvano led the Wolfpack to the national title with an upset over Houston and Phi Slama Jama.
Trailing by just six points at the half, NC State scored 55 points in the second half to dispose of Duke with a convincing 76-64 win on Sunday to advance.
Players to watch: (averages per game)
Purdue Zach Edey (C): 24.6 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.2 blocks.
Purdue Braden Smith (G): 12.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 7.5 assists.
NC State DJ Horne (G): 16.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals.
NC State DJ Burns Jr. (F): 12.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists.
(1) UConn Huskies (35-3) vs. (4) Alabama Crimson Tide (25-11)
Date: Saturday, April 6
Time: 8:49 P.M.
The No. 1 overall seed and defending national champion UConn Huskies punched their ticket to the Final Four with a 77-52 trouncing of No. 3 seed Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday.
The Huskies used a 30-0 — run that spanned the final 1:49 of the first half and the first 7:19 of the second — to bury the Illini. UConn's defense also held Illinois to its lowest point total of the season in the process.
Illinois missed its first 14 shots of the second — 17 misses in a row, in all. The 30-0 UConn run lasted for the last 1:49 of the first half and the first 7:19 of the second.
The other No. 1 seeds, North Carolina and Houston, both survived the opening weekend, but fell in their Sweet 16 games.
One of those teams that took down a top seed, was the Crimson Tide, who will be making their first-ever appearance in the Final Four.
The Tide hit a barrage of 3-pointers to take down Clemson in their Elite Eight game on Saturday night.
Alabama held a slim 35-32 lead at the break, but buried the Tigers in an avalanche of 10 3-pointers in the second half to pull away for the win.
Players to watch:
Players to watch: (averages per game)
UConn Tristen Newton (G): 15 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.1 assists.
UConn Donovan Clingan (C): 12.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks.
Bama Mark Sears (G): 21.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.1 assists.
Bama Aaron Estrada (G): 13.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.7 assists.
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