Four teams remain in the men’s NCAA Tournament: No. 1 seeds UConn and Purdue, No. 4 seed Alabama and No. 11 seed NC State.
The Boilermakers will face the Wolfpack (6:09 p.m. ET, TBS) in the first game on Saturday, with the Huskies taking on the Crimson Tide (8:49 p.m. ET, TBS) in the nightcap.
All four have taken different paths to get to the Final Four in Glendale, Ariz., and each has their own story to tell.
The focus of their respective stories, of course, is on the stars that have led each to this point. Presumptive back-to-back National Player of the Year Zach Edey is a force inside for the Boilermakers.
The Huskies’ Tristen Newton and Donovan Clingan offer the inside-out combo that every team desires.
Mark Sears was incredible in Alabama’s Elite Eight victory over Clemson and has been all year for the Crimson Tide.
And then there is NC State big man DJ Burns Jr., whose unique style and goofy personality have captured the hearts of the country during the Wolfpack’s miraculous run to this point.
But there’s more to a team than its star(s). You always need a glue guy — or two. With that, here is one x factor from each Final Four participant.
Purdue (33-4): Mason Gillis | 6-foot-6 forward
When Edey goes to work in the post, it’s nearly impossible to stop him one-on-one. The solution to that? Send help, of course. The problem with that? Not only is Edey a willing passer, but his teammates also have a knack for knocking down open triples.
Case in point, Mason Gillis. The 6-foot-6 wing has taken 158 shots this season; 118 of them have been three-pointers.
He’s done so effectively. Gillis is shooting a career-best 47.5 percent from three this season, taking advantage of the opportunities that present themselves and proving himself to be a dependable role player for head coach Matt Painter.
The most impressive part about all this? The fact that Gillis does it as the Boilermakers’ sixth man, a role he’s taken on after starting 63 of 93 games the previous three seasons.
“He didn’t make any shots the other day in a game, but he made a bunch of winning plays. You see that emotion there at the end,” Painter told reporters on Thursday regarding Gillis’s performance in the Elite Eight victory against Tennessee.
“He sacrificed a lot for us. There’s not a team here that doesn’t have more than five starters, right? Great teams have more than five starters. I think we’re one of those.”
NC State (26-14): Michael O’Connell | 6-foot-2 guard
If not for O’Connell, NC State would not be here. The Stanford transfer was the one to send the Wolfpack’s ACC Tournament semifinal matchup against Virginia into overtime, with a banked-in triple that will live on forever in NC State lore.
During the Wolfpack’s NCAA Tournament run, O’Connell has done what he always does — a little bit of everything.
The senior is averaging 6.5 points, 5.5 assists, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game in NC State’s last four wins (it’s nine straight elimination-game victories in total, by the way).
He was instrumental in the Wolfpack’s Elite Eight victory against Duke on Sunday, with six points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two steals; his triple with just over seven minutes remaining came at the tail end of a 24-9 NC State run that completely flipped the contest on its head.
Add in his leadership, a trait that, according to head coach Kevin Keatts, took O’Connell a bit to develop, and the New York native’s value to this team is obvious.
“It’s taken him a while to get his voice,” Keatts told reporters on Thursday. “But, man, when he got his voice, he started playing well. He’s coaching in timeouts. He’s talking in halftime. He’s encouraging guys.”
Expect O’Connell to keep lifting his teammates on Saturday against the Boilermakers. Oh, and provide the occasional massive three.
UConn (35-3): Samson Johnson | 6-foot-10 forward
Among UConn’s big men, Clingan gets the lion’s share of the love. And deservedly so. The sophomore is one of the most ferocious rim protectors in America, and his stat line — 15.8 points, 10 rebounds, 3.5 blocks, 2.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game — during the NCAA Tournament to this point is downright silly.
But perhaps the most unique part about Clingan? The fact that he makes such a large impact in (for a player of his caliber) fairly limited action. The 7-foot-2 center is averaging 22.1 minutes per game this season (23 per game during the tournament).
Enter Samson Johnson, who provides a different, albeit highly effective, flavor for the Huskies inside.
Johnson, a 6-foot-10 junior by way of Togo, isn’t the shot blocker that Clingan is — not many are. But his toughness and physicality defensively, along with his touch around the rim on the other end, make him quite the backup big man.
During the NCAA Tournament, Johnson is averaging 15.3 minutes per contest, contributing 4.5 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.
Given the fast tempo that Alabama plays at — the Crimson Tide are ninth nationally in adjusted tempo, per KenPom (easily the quickest pace of any of the four teams left) — Clingan is sure to need a few breathers. That is where Johnson enters the picture.
Alabama (25-11): Nick Pringle | 6-foot-10 forward
Another tough, dependable big man. Pringle has started just 15 of his 79 games with the Crimson Tide, but that hasn’t stopped him from putting his stamp on the program.
Formerly of Wofford and Dodge City Community College, Pringle doubled his scoring average from 2022-23 to this season and is contributing 7.0 points and 5.3 boards per night in his second year in Tuscaloosa.
Against Clemson in the Elite Eight, Alabama was in trouble early, trailing 26-15 with just over six minutes to go in the first half.
But the Crimson Tide quickly clawed back into it, and Pringle was a major reason why. An assist here, a putback there, and the South Carolina native had arguably his best game as an Alabama player.
He finished with 16 points, eight of which came at the charity stripe (on 13 attempts). He’s shooting 54.7 percent from the line this season, so head coach Nate Oats may want to be wary of keeping him late in the matchup against UConn (if Alabama is ahead).
Yet, he is still worth keeping an eye on heading into Alabama’s second-ever Final Four game — the women’s team made it in 1994.
“Nick Pringle’s leadership over these last four games has been the best Nick’s played since he’s been here,” Oats told reporters following the 89-82 win over Clemson.
