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The 2024 NCAA Tournament and Final Four has been pared down to just two teams for Monday’s National Championship Game. Only 44 entries in USA TODAY’s NCAA Men’s Tournament Survivor Pool contest remain out of the 7,821 who signed up.
We have a pair of No. 1 seeds squaring off, as the Purdue Boilermakers (34-4) will meet the defending champ UConn Huskies (36-5) for all of the marbles Monday night at State Farm Arena in Glendale, Ariz. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:20 p.m. ET (TBS).
I was bumped out of the Survivor Pool in the 1st round with upsets by 11th-seeded Oregon and 13th-seeded Yale. They knocked out my picks of No. 6 seed South Carolina and No. 4 seed Auburn, respectively.
Though unofficially eliminated — I couldn’t win as an employee anyway, but my goal was to steer you in the right direction for the $2.5K first prize — I continued to offer out picks.
I had winning 2nd-round picks with 11th-seeded NC State (for 11 points) and No. 5 seed San Diego State (5 points). In the Sweet 16, I correctly picked Illinois (3 points). In the Elite 8, Alabama (4 points) won for me. And in the Final Four round, Purdue (1 point) prevailed.
With 1 game to go, here’s my strategy of how to win the Men’s Basketball Tournament Survivor Pool.
Remaining entries are required to pick the winner of the National Championship Game — if they still have an eligible team to select.
Points are earned equal to your winning teams’ seeds. At this point, there actually aren’t many points available, with just 1 point apiece if Purdue or UConn wins. Hopefully you have a team available, as every point counts.
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National Championship Game pick
PICK: UCONN HUSKIES
I intentionally did not pick UConn in the previous round, and I had already picked Alabama and NC State in previous rounds. That’s a good thing, too, as both were eliminated in Saturday’s semifinals. I picked Purdue, which won and will face the defending champs Monday.
The thinking is that UConn was the strongest team in the NCAA Tournament, and it would win the title. So at least there is a pick to make. Hopefully you have either Purdue or UConn available, so you can grab 1 more point.
UConn will have its hands full with Purdue 7-foot-4 C Zach Edey. He was once again very efficient against NC State, hitting 9-of-14 shots from the field, finishing tied for a game-high 20 points, while he grabbed 12 rebounds with 4 assists and 2 blocked shots. He did turn the ball over 5 times, though, and the Huskies will certainly try to put the pressure on, trying to coax him into miscues.
The Boilermakers also have sharpshooting guards Lance Jones and Fletcher Loyer, who combined for 7 3-pointers in the Final Four victory. In fact, with NC State F DJ Burns clogging the middle, the Boilermakers had their most success along the perimeter. They hit a healthy 40.0% (10-of-25) from behind the arc, and it will likely try to do that again, with C Donovan Clingan patrolling the paint for UConn.
Ironically, the Huskies were also 40.0% (10-of-25) on 3-pointers in their semifinal win against Alabama. Four starters hit 2 triples apiece, with only Clingan not getting in on the action. G Stephon Castle led the charge offensively, going for 21 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while chipping in with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal on 7-of-13 shooting.
UConn F Alex Karaban had 14 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocked shots with 2 triples, Clingan was an efficient 8-of-14 from the field to end up with 18 points, 5 boards and 4 blocks, while G Cam Spencer posted 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals while hitting 3 treys. G Tristan Newton was good for 12 points and 9 assists with 3 triples, but he struggled with a 4-of-11 shooting night. Still, the balanced scoring, and really the balance in all of the counting stats, show how deep this team is.
We haven’t had a repeat national title winner since the Florida Gators in 2006 and 2007, but that’s all about to change Monday night.
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