Tag: march madness

Best photos from 2023-24 UNC men’s basketball season

With the 2023-24 UNC men’s basketball season coming to an end, we take a look at the best photos.

The UNC men’s basketball program didn’t fulfill its goal of winning the National Championship, but that does not take from the incredible moments this past season showcased.

The Tar Heels had one of their better seasons, a complete bounce back from the year prior that ended in UNC declining an NIT bid. This year, the Tar Heels won the Atlantic Coast Conference for the first time since 2017, locking up a No. 1 seed for March Madness in the process.

This season welcomed new Tar Heels as the much anticipated Elliot Cadeau made his UNC debut. Along with the talented freshman came key transfers in Harrison Ingram, Cormac Ryan, and Jae’lyn Withers, delivering instant impact.

This season had its goodbyes, with Amando Bacot’s final collegiate playing year ending and RJ Davis’s status still in the air.

As UNC looks towards the future, we mustn’t skip the past, as we take a look at the best photos from the 2023-24 UNC men’s basketball seasons.

Potential Thunder draft prospect Zach Edey loses to UConn for national title

Potential Thunder draft prospect Zach Edey loses to UConn for national title.

The Oklahoma City Thunder could have two 2024 first-round picks in the lottery range. They own the Houston Rockets’ top-four protected pick and the Utah Jazz’s top-10 protected pick. The former looks more likely to convey to OKC than the latter.

With the NCAA Tournament concluded, top prospects were in the spotlight as they drew national attention for their postseason performances.

Considering the Thunder will likely have at least one lottery pick, plenty of possible additions via the draft give fans a chance to see how they match up in high-stress situations.

One possibility is Purdue center Zach Edey. He finished with 37 points on 15-of-25 shooting, 10 rebounds and two blocks in 39 minutes in Purdue’s 75-60 loss to UConn in the national championship game on Monday.

Edey is a polarizing figure as a draft prospect. After opting out of last year’s draft, he returned for his senior season at Purdue and put up monster numbers. In 35 games, he averaged 24.5 points on 62% shooting, 12.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks. He led Purdue to a No. 1 seed.

The concern with the 7-foot-4, 300-pound big man is his mobility and slowness. If he can’t improve in those areas, he might not survive as an NBA center.

On the Thunder, Edey would add serious size to a small roster. He can play a traditional big-man role and pair with Chet Holmgren nicely. However, he ultimately might not fit with OKC due to his lack of playmaking.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Women’s basketball national championship was most watched basketball game at any level since 2019

The women’s national championship game on Sunday was the most-watched sporting event since 2019, excluding football and the Olympics.

Everyone watches women’s sports, and the Division I women’s national championship game on Sunday between Iowa and South Carolina put a big exclamation point on that statement: It was the most-watched basketball game — men’s or women’s, college or professional — since 2019.

The game averaged 18.7 million viewers and peaked at 24 million viewers. It was the most-watched sporting event since 2019, excluding football and the Olympics.

Supporters of women in sports have always known the potential existed for record-breaking viewership if only the product was given the platform on which to grow and thrive. Despite years of systemic inequity in coverage and investment, the women’s game is finally getting the recognition it deserves.

The NCAA “recently signed a new eight-year, $920 million TV deal with ESPN to cover its 40 other championships, including the women’s basketball tournament, which has seen a significant uptick in ratings and ticket sales. That new deal will pay the NCAA an average of $115 million per year starting next year, up from the current ESPN deal, which paid $45.2 million in 2023.” This was negotiated before the exponential increase in viewership during this year’s women’s March Madness Tournament.

The new media rights deal values women’s March Madness at $65 million annually, more than half of the $115 million yearly total ESPN will be paying. Thus, the women’s side of the game could become more lucrative for conferences and schools if the NCAA starts to pay school “units” for wins in the women’s tournament.

Around $200 million is up for grabs on the men’s side of March Madness this year because of a revenue distribution model set up to compensate conferences with teams in the NCAA Tournament. These payments are known as “units.” The conferences will receive payment for each win a team in their conference has in the tournament, but only for the men’s side of the game. Teams such as UConn, South Carolina and Iowa, which have dominated in recent years, will not receive any revenue distribution for their wins in women’s March Madness. South Carolina has won three national championships since 2017, but no revenue was distributed to the conference for the team’s stellar performances.

There are 132 units available this March Madness for the men’s side of the game in 2024, each valued at approximately $2 million.

However, with the new media rights deal, record-breaking viewership and elevated interest in the women’s side of the game, conferences could begin to see units distributed to them as early as 2025. This will put an impetus on schools to invest in their women’s basketball programs since there could be an extremely lucrative payout for them at the end of postseason play.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=650263202]

Big Ten Notebook: UConn secures back-to-back championships with win over Purdue

UConn and Danny Hurley won the NCAA Tournament on Monday night over Purdue.

On Monday night, Purdue’s magical March Madness run ended in the National Championship with a 75-60 loss to UConn. While Zach Edey continued to dominate, the Boilermakers could not prevent UConn from making history.

As the Huskies became the first team to win back-to-back championships since Florida in 2006 and 2007, they were relentless on the boards. The Huskies outscored the Boilermakers in the paint 44-40. They also were better from beyond the arc, making seven three-pointers compared to Purdue’s one.

While Monday ended in disappointing fashion for Purdue, there were a few bright spots, such as Zach Edey. The talented center scored a team-high 37 points while adding 10 rebounds to his resume. He also got some help from Braden Smith, who scored 12 points.

BASKETBALL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD#EVERYTHING pic.twitter.com/aUUx92LiTG

— UConn Men’s Basketball (@UConnMBB) April 9, 2024

Although Purdue put up a good fight, there was no denying this UConn team. Over the last two years, the program has put together a dominant run that head coach Dan Hurley is not taking for granted.

[lawrence-related id=37217,37212]

“I think it’s up there in terms of the greatest two-year runs that a program maybe has ever had,” Hurley told ESPN. “I just think it’s the best two-year run I think in a very, very long time just because of everything we lost from last year’s team. To lose that much, and again, to do what we did again, it’s got to be as impressive a two-year run as a program’s had since before whoever did it before Duke.”

As Purdue turns their focus to the 2024-2025 campaign, they have plenty to be proud of. 

Best images from UConn’s second straight national championship

Check out these images from UConn’s 75-60 win over Purdue on Monday night.

For the first time since the 2006 and 2007 seasons, we have back-to-back national champions. The UConn Huskies secured their sixth title since 1999 when they won their first championship.

Much like last season, the Huskies were in a class of their own with each victory by 10 or more points. The team was led by Tristen Newton’s 15.1 points per game and Donovan Clingan’s 7.4 rebounds per game.

Purdue big man Zach Edey did all he could to bring the title home to West Lafayette, Indiana, but even his 37-point and 10-rebound night wasn’t enough for the Boilermakers.

The Huskies join the Florida Gators, the Duke Blue Devils, and the UCLA Bruins as the only teams to win back-to-back titles since 1970.

Images from the 2024 National Championship game

NBA players react to UConn beating Purdue in March Madness Final: ‘Dan Hurley going to be considered one of the best ever’

Here’s how NBA players reacted to UConn beating Purdue in the NCAA March Madness Final.

The Connecticut Huskies cruised to a sixth NCAA championship after beating Zach Edey’s Purdue 75-60.

Despite Edey’s 37-point double-double, UConn’s strong second half led them to a back-to-back NCAA title.

Here’s how several NBA players reacted to the Final.

UConn defeats Purdue to win second straight national championship

The UConn Huskies defeated the Purdue Boilermakers, 75-60, to win their second straight national championship in the NCAA Tournament.

College basketball has a repeat national champion for the first time since 2007 after Danny Hurley and the UConn Huskies defeated Matt Painter’s Purdue Boilermakers, 75-60, on Monday night in Glendale.

The Huskies become the first repeat champion since the Florida Gators went back-to-back in 2006 and 2007, and the third total since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985. The other was Duke in 1991 and 1992, led by point guard Bobby Hurley – Danny’s brother and the current head coach at Arizona State.

UConn, who lost five of their eight leading scorers from last year’s championship squad, secured the title on the back of a full team effort on the defensive end, holding Purdue to 44.4% shooting from the field and just 1-7 from the three point line.

Zach Edey was left in single coverage all night long, and while he had a productive night – finishing with 37 points and 10 rebounds on 15-25 shooting – the supporting cast for the Boilermakers did not step up to help him out.

Meanwhile, for the second year in a row Tristen Newton led UConn in scoring in a national championship victory, dropping 20 points and seven assists and cementing himself as among the best NCAA Tournament performers of all-time.

Newcomers Cam Spencer (11 points, eight rebounds) and Stephon Castle (15 points) had great games as well, while Donovan Clingan focused his effort on the defensive side of the ball while chipping in 11 points and five rebounds.

UConn not only won back-to-back titles, they finished the 2024 NCAA Tournament with the largest total margin of victory of all-time, and have now won every game they played in the last two tournaments by 13 or more points – a level of dominance that puts this program squarely in the dynasty conversation.

On the Purdue side, this ends their quest to do what Virginia did in 2019 – win a championship the year after losing to a No. 16 seed. It also keeps the Big Ten’s streak of not winning a national title alive, which dates back to 2000 when Tom Izzo and Michigan State got it done.

Duke women’s basketball finishes 17th in final AP Poll

After a stunning second-round upset of Ohio State in the NCAA Women’s Tournament, the Blue Devils finished 17th in the final AP Poll released on Monday.

Duke women’s basketball ended the year 17th in the final AP Poll released on Monday.

The Blue Devils finished the season with a 22-12 record after they made the Sweet 16 in the Women’s NCAA Tournament, upsetting No. 2 seed Ohio State on the way there.

Duke ran into Connecticut, who won the Portland region, in the regional semifinal. Despite the loss, the Blue Devils held the Huskies to a season-low 53 points. No other tournament team held UConn below 69 points.

Leading scorer Reigan Richardson became the second Duke women’s basketball player with multiple 25-point games in the NCAA Tournament after she tallied 25 points against Richmond and 28 points against the Buckeyes in the second round.

Five other ACC teams ended the year inside the Associated Press’s top 25. NC State, a No. 3 seed who made the Final Four, finished fourth after its remarkable tournament run.

Notre Dame (11th), Virginia Tech (18th), and Syracuse (20th) also made the final rankings.

Caitlin Clark is not concerned with outside opinions of her

Clark will likely be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft.

Iowa’s Caitlin Clark has been lighting up the court throughout the season, and into March Madness, nothing has changed. Clark reflected on the opinions people have of her throughout her career.

“When you’re in the spotlight like this, there’s gonna be a million different opinions on you,” Clark said on Saturday. “And for as many people that are going to love you, there’s going to be people that don’t like you. That’s the case with every professional athlete, men or women, playing at the highest stage. I think what I’ve been able to do over the course of my career is just focus on the opinions of the people inside our locker room. That’s what I really care about. The people that I love to death. The people that have had my back every single second of my career. Have been the ones that have believed in me more than anybody and to me that’s really the only opinions that I am concerned with are my teammates, my coaches, and my family. The people I want to make proud every single day.”

While the Hawkeyes have made it to back-to-back national championships, they have not won the title yet. They were denied last year when LSU walked away with the crown and were second-best again this year when undefeated South Carolina won the title game, 87-75. Iowa women’s basketball has never won a national championship, and with Clark declaring for the 2024 WNBA draft, it might be a while before Iowa lifts the trophy.

Clark will likely be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft which takes place on April 15 at Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York (ESPN, 7:30 p.m. ET). The Indiana Fever have the No. 1 pick again this year and will likely take Clark. The Fever will then be able to boast the 2023 No. 1 overall pick in South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston and the 2024 No. 1 overall pick, which is presumed to be Clark.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=650263202]

Purdue basketball can break the Big Ten’s horrid streak in national title games

The Big Ten has a terrible record in national championship games since 2002:

The Big Ten’s Purdue Boilermakers will play in the NCAA Tournament national championship Monday night against the UConn Huskies — the No. 1 overall seed and defending national champion.

UConn is looking for history. Florida was the last team to repeat as national champions back in 2006-2007, plus the Huskies are looking for a second consecutive tournament run with every win being by double-digits.

Related: Evaluating the Big Ten’s next targets for conference expansion

Purdue, on the other hand, is looking to reverse the Big Ten’s recent horrid performance in the title game. The conference has sent members to 13 of the last 25 Final Fours and seven of the last 21 title games. It does not have a national championship in that span, somehow, despite being arguably the nation’s best basketball conference.

As preparations are made for the title game on Monday night, here is the Big Ten’s history in the title game since 2000: