The Elite Eight of the men’s and women’s March Madness tournaments were packed with exciting games. North Carolina State University highlighted the men’s side with an upset victory over the Duke University Blue Devils to reach the Final Four. A rematch of last year’s national championship, the University of Iowa vs. Louisiana State University, highlighted the women’s side.
Being an 11-seed, NC State was the highest-seeded team still alive in the Elite Eight.
The Wolfpack went on an amazing run to reach the Final Four, which started in the ACC conference tournament. After a regular season record of 17-14, they sat in 10th place in the conference. They proceeded to win five games in five days to become the ACC champions, beating both fellow schools in their state, Duke and the University of North Carolina.
NC State charged to a 76-74 victory over Duke for their second victory over the Blue Devils in the month of March. Behind another inspiring, 29-point performance by DJ Burns, the Wolfpack were able to outscore Duke.
Burns has become quite the figure throughout the tournament. Standing at 6’9” and weighing 275 pounds, guarding him has been no fun for opposing teams. Throughout the tournament, Burns has gained multiple NIL deals and fame with his performances.
The University of Connecticut continued their dominance with a 25-point win over the University of Illinois. The Huskies have looked unstoppable for most of the tournament and continued that trend to roll into the Final Four with ease.
“I don’t see anybody realistically beating UConn,” said Sean Davis, a senior exercise science major. “They’re so stacked, and their run so far has just been insane.”
The women’s Elite Eight was lit up with a star-studded rematch of last year’s national championship. Iowa, led by Caitlin Clark, was set to take on defending champion LSU, led by the “Bayou Barbie,” Angel Reese.
Iowa would ultimately come out on top and advance after a 94-87 victory. The first half was very evenly matched, ending with a score of 45-45. Both teams came out firing and kicked off the game with high-scoring first quarters.
The difference in the game came from Iowa’s 24-point third quarter, in which LSU only scored 13 points. In the fourth quarter, LSU turned it up a little bit in an effort to mount a comeback. However, Iowa kept the pace to pull off the win.
Flau’jae Johnson led LSU in scoring with 23 points, while Reese tallied 17. A major moment in the game came in the fourth quarter when Reese fouled out of the game.
Clark took over the game for the Hawkeyes, scoring 41 points and having 12 assists to facilitate her teammates in scoring.
“Caitlin Clark is amazing,” said Kara Dial, a senior nursing major. “She has done so much for the game of women’s basketball and will continue to do so at the next level. Angel Reese has also changed the game in a lot of ways. Thanks to players like this and South Carolina’s team, the sport has definitely advanced and is in a little bit of a shining era right now.”
