Half of the NCAA men’s tournament Final Four spots are filled. Florida is a representative of the SEC after beating Texas Tech and Duke is there from the ACC after dispatching Alabama. The other two will be determined Sunday in a pair of Elite Eight matchups
The action will start from the Midwest Region in Indianapolis. Top seed Houston is coming off a dramatic win against Purdue with the benefit of a last-second inbounds play. Tennessee will be playing in their fourth Elite Eight, but have yet to reach the Final Four. On the plus side, the Volunteers were in this spot last season and can draw from their experience in a loss to Purdue.
The second matchup takes place in Atlanta. Auburn, the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed, looked to be in trouble in the second half against Michigan during the Sweet 16. Then Denver Jones stepped up with 3-point shots, and the Tigers blew away the Wolverines to make just their third Elite Eight in school history. Michigan State is no stranger to this situation but struggled Friday with Mississippi and faces a bigger challenge here.
No. 1 Houston vs. No. 2 Tennessee
Time/TV: 2:20 p.m., ET, CBS
Like defense? You’ll be in love with this game. The Cougars and Volunteers are first and eighth in fewest points allowed, respectively. They’re also third and fourth in field-goal percentage defense. Points will be hard to come by for both teams. The matchup at point guard is one to watch. Houston has Milos Uzan, an Oklahoma transfer, to run the offense. Tennessee counters with Zakai Zeigler, who is the heart and soul of the team on both offense and defense. Both teams boast big bodies inside that should be interesting to watch. An edge there could be critical. While the disappointing history of the Volunteers will get a lot of attention, the Cougars have had their own disappointments in the past four tournaments when trying to return to their first Final Four since 2020. They’ll be plenty motivated.
No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 2 Michigan State
Time/TV: 5:05 p.m., ET, CBS
If experience matters, then there should be lots of optimism for the Spartans. Tom Izzo has been here 10 previous times and gone 8-2 in regional finals. He knows how to get a team ready on a short turnaround with a Final Four berth on the line. But it also takes players to get it done on the court. Michigan State possesses the size to match up with Tigers big man Johni Broome (18.5 ppg and 10.8 rpg), though it will require a team effort to slow him down. Auburn, however, is more than just Broome, forcing the Spartans to be aware of perimeter scorers that include Jones, Chad Baker-Mazara and Tahaad Pettiford. Should the Tigers prevail, it would be quite to coup to take down the Big Ten’s two Michigan schools along the way.
