Purdue is a game away from the Final Four. The last time this happened was my sophomore year in West Lafayette. We beat Dayton, Oklahoma, and Gonzaga in a classic broken bracket to be the higher seed in the regional final in Albuquerque. We faced off against Wisconsin for the fourth time that year and lost 64-60. We had beaten them in West Lafayette, but lost to them in Madison, Chicago, and Albuquerque. It was a frustrating end to a surprising run and probably the closest Gene Keady came to a Final Four. Now we get to play a pseudo-home game in Louisville instead of out west. There was a partisan crowd in the YM Center even with a lot of Tennessee fans in attendance. Now that their tickets have flooded the market I fully expect it to be Mackey South even with Virginia being the No. 1 seed. Virginia Cavaliers From: Charlottesville, VA Date: Saturday, March 30, 2018 Tip Time: 8:49pm Location: Louisville, KY Arena: KFC Yum Center (22,090) Television: TBS Online: March Madness On Demand Radio: Purdue Radio Network SiriusXM Satellite: XM (Ch. 381); Internet (Ch. 968) Live Stats: bit.ly/PurdueLiveStats Odds: Virginia by 4.5 KenPom: 1 NET: 1 2017-18 Record: 31-3. 17-1 ACC (ACC regular season & Tournament champions) 2018-19 Record: 32-3, 16-2 ACC (ACC Regular Season champions) Opponent Blog: Streaking the Lawn Series with Purdue: Series Tied 1-1 Last Virginia Win: 98-79 at Virginia on 11/29/2000 Last Purdue Win: 61-59 at Purdue on 11/29/2006 NCAA Tournament History: 23 appearances, 1981 and 1984 Final Four Coach: Tony Bennett (251-89 in 10th season at Virginia, 319-122 overall) Tony Bennett and Matt Painter are generally regarded as two of the best coaches in America to have never made a Final Four. One will make it tomorrow night. Bennett has built Virginia into a regular season National power, but has struggled mightily in March. This is only his second Elite Eight and he has the black mark of the worst NCAA Tournament loss ever coming last year vs. UMBC. Still, this is his fourth season of 30 wins in the last six. He also has four ACC regular season titles in that span. As if it wasn’t enough of a bad sign, he was an assistant on that Wisconsin team coached by his dad that eliminated Purdue in its last Elite 8. Simply put, Virginia is the best of the best. Their defense gets it done, allowing a miserly 55 points per game, three points better than the next best team (Michigan). Aside from two regular season losses to Duke they only lost to Florida State in the ACC Tournament. Their defense is like a boa constrictor, and I would liken them to a team Ryan Cline is very familiar with: Carmel High School. Carmel has won three class 4A state championships, including one a week ago, by playing stifling defense and making very few mistakes with the game on the line. They seem like an overwhelming opponent unless you have a Duke level of raw talent. In commons opponents they beat Wisconsin by 7, Maryland by 5, Florida State by 13, Virginia Tech by 22 and 6, Notre Dame by 27 and 6, but later lost to Florida State by 10. This is not a team that is going to beat itself. Even its offense is efficient as hell rating second on KenPom in adjusted offense only behind Gonzaga. They have a very specific system that functions with ruthless efficiency on both ends of the floor. Indiana native Kyle Guy (15.1 ppg) and De’Andre Hunter (15.2 ppg) lead them in scoring along with Ty Jerome (13 ppg). Those three guards are ruthlessly efficient, all shooting over 40% from three. If you foul them, they are going to hit free throws and they won’t turn the ball over. Mamadi Diakite, Jacks Satl, and Jay Huff are their top post players, but this is not a team with a strong inside presence. They rebound as a team (Braxton Key leads them at 5.5 rebounds per game) and take care of the ball. If anything, they are super Purdue in that they are a bunch of interchangeable parts where eight games average four points or more per game. That’s what really stands out to me. This team is just so damned efficient on both sides of the ball. Duke beat them 72-70 by grinding it out and prevailing with superior talent. They won game two by shooting 62% from three on the road. Florida State beat them by shooting 56% from the floor and dominating the glass. Purdue needs to win this game by hitting threes and speeding them up a bit. They are a team that is dead last in tempo in KenPom (353 of 353). Purdue is slightly faster at 263. You saw in their Sweet 16 game with Oregon that they are not afraid to grind it out and play in the 50s. It does not bother them at all. The thing is, it doesn’t bother us, either. Cline and Carsen Edwards need to stay hot from three. Cline was incredible against Tennessee and played the game of his career. Edwards personally dispatched the defending national champions in round 2. We need them to be on while Matt Haarms keeps up his good run. Let’s not discount Nojel Eastern and Aaron Wheeler, either. This is a matchup of two teams that play a similar style. Both teams are going to be tough and fight for every inch of the floor. Purdue has the superstar in Edwards, however. He might be the difference.<doc-sep>After a nail-biter against Oregon in the Sweet 16, top-seeded Virginia tips off against No. 3 Purdue Saturday in the South Regional Final of the Elite 8. Here’s Howie Kussoy’s prediction for the highly anticipated March Madness matchup. No. 1 Virginia (-4½) over No. 3 Purdue (8:49 p.m., TBS): The Cavaliers scored 53 points to make it to the Elite Eight. The Boilermakers needed 99. Who do you think is more likely to make its opponent awkwardly bend to its style? Who has done it better than any team in the past decade? Virginia’s time has come. After winning four ACC titles in six years, and claiming the top seed in the NCAA Tournament each time, Tony Bennett finally has the right balance to bring Virginia to the Final Four for the first time since 1984. Through their first three tournament wins, the Cavaliers have uncharacteristically struggled shooting, but a team that hit 41 percent from the perimeter all season is due to get back on track. Meanwhile, Purdue star Carsen Edwards’ habit of forcing bad shots will reach an all-time high against a defense built upon frustrating players into such shots. The previous tournament games were pressure. This is the one the Cavaliers have always wanted. This season: 30-30-1 2011-18 record: 224-189-8<doc-sep>Virginia faces Purdue on Saturday in the South Regional final with a trip to the Final Four on the line. No. 1 seed Virginia advanced to its second Elite Eight in four years after it beat No. 12 seed Oregon 53-49. Virginia had zero points off the bench and scoring came evenly from its starters. Ty Jerome led the team with 13 points, and Mamadi Diakite scored the least with seven points. Tony Bennett is looking to get to his first Final Four and bring the Cavs back there for the first time since 1984. No. 3 seed Purdue won an overtime thriller against No. 2 seed Tennessee on Thursday. The Boilermakers had a 25-point in the second half before Tennessee stormed back, but Purdue was able to prevail 99-94. Carsen Edwards scored a game-high 29 points, but Ryan Cline stole the show late, hitting seven 3-pointers in the game. Purdue is averaging 13.3 3-pointers made per game in the tournament, the highest of all teams remaining, and hitting them at an incredibly impressive 44 percent. Let's take a closer look at this crucial showdown and see who our experts are picking to advance to Minneapolis next weekend. Viewing information When : Saturday, 8:49 p.m. ET : Saturday, 8:49 p.m. ET Where : KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky : KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky TV : TBS : TBS Live stream: March Madness Live and fuboTV (try for free) Predictions, picks So who wins Purdue vs. Virginia? And which side of the spread cashes well over 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Virginia vs. Purdue spread you should be all over Saturday, all from the model that's up more than $4,000 on top-rated college basketball picks, and find out.<doc-sep>In the best game of the NCAA tournament, the Virginia Cavaliers topped the Purdue Boilermakers 80-75 to advance to UVA’s first Final Four since 1984. The crowd dramatically favored the Boilermakers, which was to be expected as West Lafayette is signifcantly closer (three hours to Charlottesville’s 7.5). Purdue won the tip and Cline picked up where he left off against Tennessee with a big three. Despited a valiant effort from Grady Eifert to sell a flop in the post, Diakite backed his man down and got a jumper to go to make it a one point game. Haarms returned the favor on the other end in the paint to give Purdue a 5-2 lead, but a strong drive in the lane from Jerome ended with a bucket off the glass. Edwards got on the board with a three to put the Boilermakers up 8-4 with 17:53 left in the half. Another Diakite bucket was answered with an Edwards three, but Guy hit a step-back long two to make it 11-8. The first miss for either team came on the next possession as Edwards couldn’t get one to go, but Jerome’s three with two seconds left in the shot clock caromed off the stanchion. Purdue hauled in the rebound, but Eifert and Edwards ran into each other and Hunter came away with the ball and foul (on Eifert). Guy’s three ball wouldn’t fall, but another big grab from Hunter found Diakite for a monster dunk and a one point game. Two empty possessions for Purdue — sandwiched around a transition three attempt from Jerome — gave Virginia a chance to take its first lead, but Hunter’s jumper sailed wide. Cline got another three to go with a hand in his face and two seconds on the shot clock to put Purdue up 14-10 with 13:45 to play. Hunter got on the scoreboard with a two through contact, and a huge block from Diakite gave the ball back to the Hoos down just two. Virginia couldn’t capitalize, and Aaron Wheeler appeared to get another three to go for the Boilermakers as the shot clock horn sounded. After a review, the bucket was waived off for the shot clock violation. Virginia couldn’t tie the game up after Guy’s drive to the bucket rolled off the rim, and Eric Hunter Jr. hit Purdue’s fifth three of the half to put the crowd favorites up 17-12 with 11:12 to play. Two free throws from Edwards gave the Boilermakers a seven-point lead, and Key’s three attempt sailed long. The two squads traded turnovers, and Wheeler’s three attempt gave Purdue a double-digit lead with 9:46 remaining. Guy drew a foul shooting three and made two of the free throws to cut the lead back to 22-14. Purdue finally missed a shot, and Diakite’s fourth bucket of the half cut the deficit to six. Edwards hit the Boilermakers’ seventh three of the first half (on 10 attempts) to make it 25-16 with just under eight minutes to play. Clark found Jerome off of a screen for a much needed three — Virginia’s first of the game — to make it 25-19, and Edwards missed on the other end to give the Hoos the ball back. Jerome tried to get his second straight three to drop, but it went off the rim and harmlessly to Purdue. Virginia went on a fouling spell with a questionable call on Jerome negating a steal and Clark getting called for his second. Purdue was unable to take advantage of the extended possession as Haarms passed it harmlessly out of bounds. Jerome’s floater in the lane wouldn’t connect, but, after a miss from Cline, Salt cut the Purdue lead to four with a shot off the glass. Jerome canned another three to cut the deficit to one with 4:47 to play, but Edwards cut into the lane and hit a jumper to make it 27-24. Hunter responded with a jumper of his own, and another three from Edwards returned the Purdue lead to four points with 3:44 to play. Two misses from three from Purdue were answered with a miss from beyond the arc from Diakite, but the Hoos came up strong defensively. Guy appeared to roll his ankle with 2:09 left in the first half and had to leave the court. Salt was fouled on an offensive rebound and put back attempt, and the senior big man made one of two at the line to cut the deficit back to three. Edwards couldn’t get a three to drop, and another offensive rebound by the Hoos led to a Diakite layup to make it 30-29 with one minute left in the half. After a huge defensive stand, the Hoos held for the last shot of the first half. A foul by Hunter Jr. gave Virginia just 1.1 seconds to inbounds the ball, and Diakite was unable to get a long two to fall as the Hoos headed into the half down 30-29. Being down one at the break was frankly remarkable considering Purdue shot 8-for-18 (42%) from three in the first half, while Virginia shot just 2-for-12 (17%). Diakite led the Hoos with 10 points in the first half on 5-for-8 shooting, and Jerome added eight points. Clark was sound with the ball, dishing out four assists, and Virginia only had one turnover in the first half. Virginia shot 41% from the field in the first half, and dominated Purdue 14-2 in points in the paint and 7-3 in second chance points. Edwards led Purdue with 16 points on a blistering 4-for-8 mark from beyond the arc, and the Boilermakers had good ball control themselves with just three turnovers. Guy started out the half with a three off of a screen to give Virginia their first lead of the game at 32-30. Haarms was met by Salt and Diakite down low, leaving his shot short off the rim, but Jerome was unable to extend Virginia’s lead as his floater didn’t connect.<doc-sep>
UVA and Purdue have both been counted out too many times. And despite the talk, Virginia has looked every bit like a National Championship contender after a slow first twenty minutes of the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, Purdue has outshot every opponent thus far. Tonight, Virginia’s top-5 defense takes on Purdue’s top-5 offense, and one of them books a ticket to the Final Four. Purdue vs. UVA Date: Saturday, March 30 Time: 8:49 p.m. ET Location: Louisville, KY TV Channel: TBS Live Stream: fuboTV – start your 7-day free trial #3 Purdue The Purdue Boilermakers entered the NCAA Tournament with tremendous expectations to make a deep run and maybe even reach the Final Four. After blowing out both Old Dominion and reigning NCAA champions Villanova, that expectation seemed grounded in reality. The, in their first true test of the tournament, the Boilermakers ran out to a 12-point halftime cushion over #2 Tennessee before relinquishing the lead and seeing regulation end deadlocked. But Purdue has good players all over the floor, and in overtime, they proved that, pouring in 17 points from a variety of players. Carsen Edwards has looked like the tournament’s best player after leading Purdue to a 23-9 regular season record to share the Big Ten championship. They weren’t successful in the Big Ten tournament, losing in the quarterfinals, but that didn’t change the perception or expectation for this team. Matt Painter has already taken Purdue one step further than last year, but when you can smell a Final Four, Elite Eight just doesn’t sound good enough. To win, Edwards, Cline, and Haarms will have to bring their best for a full 40. #1 Virginia A year removed from the most shocking and humiliating NCAA Tournament loss of all time, for any team, UVA never faltered in their opening game against Gardner Webb. Down 14 in the first half and six points at halftime, UVA’s season’s vets regrouped at the break and went on a Goliath-sized run in the second half to put any concerns to rest. March Madness will have to wait one more year for a potential 16-over-1 upset, and Virginia made sure of that. Coach Tony Bennett’s side then went on to destroy #9 Oklahoma in the second round to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, where they dispatched a dangerous Oregon offense by a mere four points, but always appeared in control. They were arguably the country’s top college basketball team in 2018-2019, posting a 29-3 record and winning the Atlantic Coast Conference for the second season in succession. With doubts dwindling and confidence rising, the only team standing between them and the Final Four is quite possibly the hottest-shooting team in March Madness. But if there’s any team that can bottle them up, it’s Virginia. Both programs are gunning for their third Final Four in school history – and first trip since the 1980s. It’s one of the best head-to-head matchups this tournament could have produced, and everything is on the line. We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.