ESPN Analytics doesn’t expect NC State to extend its Cinderella run in the men’s Final Four.
After earning a March Madness invite by winning the ACC title, the Wolfpack advanced to the national semifinal by defeating Texas Tech, Oakland, Marquette, and Duke. However, the No. 11 seed will remain a considerable underdog when opposing No. 1 Purdue this Saturday.
ESPN’s Matchup Predictor gives the Boilermakers an 89.6 percent win probability. For perspective, ESPN gives UConn a 71.9 percent chance of continuing its dominant NCAA tournament run by defeating Alabama.
ESPN also assigns NC State’s women a higher probability (16.2) of handing South Carolina its first loss of the season in Friday night’s Final Four showdown.
NC State’s men ended the regular season 17-14 with a 9-11 conference record. The Wolfpack seemed unlikely to go dancing before upending Duke and North Carolina en route to an improbable ACC title.
The magic has continued behind stellar play from DJ Burns Jr., a 275-pound forward who scored 29 points in Sunday’s 76-64 win over the Blue Devils. NC State became the sixth No. 11 seed to make the men’s Final Four, but none have ever advanced to the championship game.
Purdue will look to keep that trend intact.
A year after suffering a shocking first-round loss to No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson, the Boilermakers handled business with three double-digit victories over Grambling, Utah State, and Gonzaga. They faced a tougher challenge when notching a 72-66 win over No. 2 Tennessee behind 40 points and 16 rebounds from Zach Edey.
Purdue’s star big man is averaging 30.0 points, 16.3 boards, and 1.8 blocks during the tournament. The 7-foot-4 Edey can cement a legendary run by leading the Big Ten squad to a national title.
Saturday’s game between Purdue and NC State starts at 6:09 p.m. ET on TBS.