March Madness 2024: Top Storylines and Expert Picks for Men's Elite 8 Bracket

The Elite Eight of the NCAA men's basketball tournament looks much different than anyone predicted it would be, which seems like the case almost every year.

Only one of the four matchups scheduled for Saturday and Sunday pits the No. 1 seed versus the No. 2 seed in a region.

Two unlikely stories from the ACC carried over into the Elite Eight, as the Clemson Tigers and NC State Wolfpack continued their runs.

NC State faces a familiar foe in the Duke Blue Devils in an all-ACC clash that feels like it should be played inside the Greensboro Coliseum and not in Dallas.

Clemson's Elite Eight clash is a battle of schools that are used to facing off at the highest level in football. The Alabama Crimson Tide upset the North Carolina Tar Heels and are now the favorite to advance to the Final Four.

Getting to the Final Four has been a struggle for Matt Painter and Rick Barnes in their respective coaching careers, but at least one of them will make it from the Purdue-Tennessee clash.

Can anyone stop the reigning champion Connecticut Huskies?

So far, no one has come close to slowing down Danny Hurley's team.

UConn obliterated the San Diego State Aztecs in the Sweet 16 to move one step away from a repeat Final Four appearance and three wins away from the first repeat national title since the Florida Gators in 2006 and 2007.

Everything seems to be going perfect for the Huskies, which is why many people will pick them to cruise into the Final Four.

The Illinois Fighting Illini rank second in offensive adjusted efficiency on KenPom and have one of the most dynamic shot makers left in the field in Terrance Shannon Jr.

The Illini will go in as the clear underdog and that may help them prepare for Saturday's clash in Boston, which will feel like a true road game.

Field of 68's Rob Dauster commented on his view of the Illinois squad.

"In my 16 years of covering this, I don't think I can remember an Elite 8 team as loose as Illinois is right now," Dauster said.

But it does not seem like many people will pick Illinois to down UConn, even if Shannon goes off. The Athletic polled five of its writers on the game and everyone picked the Huskies.

That speaks to UConn's total dominance of the NCAA tournament in the last two years, and even if Shannon goes off, it can slow down other parts of the Illinois offense to break away.

We're used to seeing Clemson and Alabama do battle in football.

Of course, that was the first reaction on Thursday night when the matchup was set by the upsets over Arizona and North Carolina.

Both programs are looking for their first bid to the Final Four, as Jon Rothstein noted on College Hoops Today, it is a stark contrast of styles.

"Just like the Tigers' matchup on Thursday night against Arizona, this is a tremendous contrast in styles. The Crimson Tide want to play as fast as possible while Clemson prefers to be slow and methodical. But remember this: When these two teams met earlier this season in Tuscaloosa, Brad Brownell's team scored 85 points in an eight-point victory while shooting over 50 percent from both the field and the three-point line."

Clemson's regular-season experience with Alabama's high-flying offense should help it prepare on the quick turnaround for the Crimson Tide.

The Tigers limited Arizona to 72 points in a game in which the Wildcats struggled to hit anything from three-point range.

KenPom predicts Alabama to beat Clemson 83-81, which would be the highest-scoring game of Clemson's NCAA tournament run.

Clemson would love to play the game in the 60s, but that might not be possible against an Alabama team that loves to shoot within the first 10-12 seconds of the shot clock.

The only No. 1-versus-No. 2 matchup in the Elite Eight pits two coaches who have longed to get to the Final Four against each other.

Matt Painter only got Purdue to the Elite Eight on one occasion since he took over in 2005. Rick Barnes is at the furthest stage of the NCAA tournament he has been with Tennessee since taking charge in 2015. Barnes took Texas to the Elite Eight twice from 1998-2015.

One coach will finally get to appear in a Final Four, and there is a good chance a lot of experts will pick Purdue.

The Boilermakers have been unstoppable due to their combination of Zach Edey down low and terrific shooting guards, like Braden Smith.

Tennessee is led by Northern Colorado transfer Dalton Knecht and a handful of experienced players that will not back down from the challenge.

Each team looked like championship-caliber sides on Friday when they began the second half with extended runs that put away Gonzaga and Creighton.

CBS' Seth Davis posted on X that "Tennessee is gonna give Purdue all it wants and then some." ESPN's Jeff Borzello laid out the stakes for both programs who are trying to end Final Four droughts.

The final Elite Eight contest has the feel of a Saturday night matchup in the ACC tournament.

Duke and NC State rarely are expected to square off at this stage of the NCAA tournament. Usually that is reserved for the Blue Devils and North Carolina.

NC State is the Cinderella story of the tournament as the lone double-digit seed remaining.

The Wolfpack won five games in five days to win the ACC tournament and a ninth win in a row would miraculously put them into the Final Four.

However, Duke looks like a national title contender with Kyle Filipowski down low and a tremendous guard lineup led by Jared McCain.

KenPom predicts the Blue Devils will by nine points. Duke beat NC State 79-64 in the regular season, while the Wolfpack downed the Blue Devils in the ACC tournament quarterfinals.

A Final Four berth for Duke would create a wave of momentum for the program under Jon Scheyer, as CBS Sports' Matt Norlander hinted at.

Duke is only a six-point favorite, but if it smothers NC State like it did on March 4, it could have the largest margin of victory across the four Elite Eight contests.