2024 Final Four Is Set

Nobody has ever made going to the Final Four look easier than UConn over the last two years. And it's quite possible that nobody has made it look harder than Purdue has over the last 44 years.

This Purdue Final Four breakthrough is such a long time coming even Gene Keady can't believe it. That dude put in 25 great seasons and couldn't get it done. And then Matt Painter took over and put in 19 great seasons before it finally actually happened. 

And of course it only happened after one of the single most humiliating losses in the history of the sport. Of course Boilermaker Nation had to collectively smash against rock bottom first before they could experience the ultimate high. Apparently they needed the ultimate defeat to unlock the ultimate relief.

My point is, it’s pretty easy to feel good for these dudes. At least it is for me. I know a lot of the complainers have complaints about this team. And especially about Zach Edey. 

About how he's "only good because he's tall," remember that brilliant take? And this weekend the haters were out to say the refs were too lenient with the big dude. That the refs let the big dude dominate too much. Because that's who should get the credit for Zach Edey's success... The Ref Show. Yeah, not around here they won't... 

What kind of takes are these? Why it is so hard to believe a 7 foot 4 300 pound monster is a dominant player? Why is so hard to just enjoy a 7 foot 4 300 pound monster balling out? The guy just became the first player to score 900 points and grab 450 rebounds in a DI season since Larry Bird in 1979. And he’s about to win player of the year honors for the second year in a row. And yet the guy gets so little credit; and so much hate from people who are butt hurt, or know nothing about the game or both when they say the only reason he gets his, is because he’s really tall and gets every single whistle. Meanwhile, Purdue would argue must the opposite that the guy doesn’t get the calls he deserves and the ref show allows defenders to just bang away on the guy with impunity: you know the whole Shaq thing back in the day.

I get it, haters gonna hate, and haters gonna materialize anytime anyone has any success doing anything. Personally, I'm gonna keep enjoying a dude who can cut down the net with no ladder.

Seriously, what a legendary move. Dude is so enormous he just reached up and clipped his piece of the net and then handed a piece off to Gene Keady. It was freaking IONIC. Am I supposed to hate that? Because I don't. And I also don't hate that he was fired up with Evan Washburn after the win... I actually love that he was this fired up. 

"We're FFFFFFFF winners... That's what we do!" you get to do that when you win. Of course, up until this tournament you could pretty much say the opposite about this program.... Until this tournament you could say that what Purdue does is crash out early every year and wreck everyone's brackets. That's what they DID.

But this time, the Boilermakers are Final Four bound. So if Edey wants to puff his chest out, he can puff his chest out. And the only reason to hate this Purdue run to the Final Four is if you're just looking for any reason to hate.

Especially consider the matchup that win just set up. Because now Purdue gets the WOOF PACK. And we all get Edey v DJ BURNS. AKA one of the all-time big man matchups ever.

DJ Burns is just something else... Seriously his game and his energy and his attitude, it's one of the best breakout star stories at the tournament in recent memory. And it just happens to coincide with one of the craziest postseason runs we've ever seen from any team.

I've layed it out before but I just can't get over it... The WOOF PACK were 17-14 and they just ran off 9 straight wins.  All 9 being elimination games.  They won five games in five days at the ACC Tournament and then they just kept right on rolling all the way to the Final Four.

And the best part is they're just FUN. They're just out there playing like its playground ball. And DJ Burns says that's basically his only mode.

How can you not love that, and how can you not love that they just managed to beat the blue blood a half hour up the road to keep the run going. In fact, they beat the blue blood a half hour up the road for the SECOND time on this nine game run. 

They didn't just deny the Dukies their first Final Four trip in the post "K" era, they beat them two different times on two different neutral floors in the span of two and a half weeks. I guess you could say certainly Duke is Duke... They're on tv getting their asses beat by NC State more than Leave It To Beaver reruns.

Huge props to Kevin Keatts, because this is truly one of the all-time insane postseason heaters. And while it's true that #11 seeds haven't fared well in the Final Four historically, I can't count these dudes out. It would be a little crazy to count these dudes out... Considering right now they can't lose. 

Meanwhile UConn still can't even find a competitive game, let alone a loss. They did, however, find a competitive half against Illinois. And I guess the Illini should get some credit for that. Not much. But a little.

At least they hung in for a half. For a half, Illinois was who we thought they were: a tough, well coached, very experienced team that wouldn't wilt in the face of the Huskies. And then 30-0 happened. A 30-0 run in an Elite Eight game. Against a 29 win team. 

Yo Mike in Jacksonville, do I need to pump the breaks on a 30-0 run? Actually, what he said was “let’s take a breath on UConn.”  Great take, Mike. As I pointed out the second you said it: what was a horrible take then, looks so much worse now.  Again a 30-0 run:  Hey Mike, is that any good? 30-0. not against a 16 seed in the first round. A 30-0 SECOND HALF run against the BIG TEN CHAMPS in an ELITE EIGHT game with the FINAL FOUR on the line.

I really didn't think there was anything UConn could do impress me anymore, or get me to believe any more, and then they went out there and posted a 30-0 second half run to completely eviscerate Illinois. 

This is exactly what Dan Hurley meant when he told his dudes on opening weekend to just keep blowing teams out of the tournament and just keep smacking them. And they didn't just smack Illinois on their way to blowing them out of the tournament, they caved their heads in.

So there go the Huskies back to a second consecutive Final Four without anyone giving them a game along the way in either tournament. So best of luck to you Alabama. Honestly they should get some kind of award if they can even cover the 11.5 point spread. Alabama should get a banner if they can even hang in the game.

30-0... To cap 2 straight years of tournament blowouts. It's unprecedented. It's beyond comprehension. And it's the kind of thing that will make your fan base incredibly obnoxious on social. Hey those aren't my words Husky fan... That came straight from the man himself after the game on Saturday. 

I don't think everyone hates UConn because UConn fan is obnoxious on social media. I don't even think everyone hates this team, it's more like we're in awe of this team, but if anyone hates anything about this team, it's because they've been unbeatable. It's because they're in absolutely everyone's way. It's because idea of playing these guys is absolutely miserable. 

I'm just saying, the people who don't like UConn are probably people who don't like eating curb for 40 minutes. Or getting their head shoved in the toilet for a 30-0 run. And I can't really blame anyone for hating that because that would suck. And because UConn is looking to just survive and advance. They’re looking to snatch your soul, and scar you for life.  They’re relentless, unmerciful and they don’t give a damn how you feel about it or them.  Contrast to Alabama for making their first final four: you earned: just as you’re about to earn that ass kicking UConn is going to lay on you.  If getting your face broken by Dan Hurley and UConn is inevitable, you may as well just sit back and embrace the suck, Bama: just like everyone else who walks on the floor with these guys.