North Carolina State Wolfpack

Purdue stymies NC State’s Cinderella run, marches into first championship game since 1969

7Apr

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Purdue stymies NC State’s Cinderella run, marches into first championship game since 1969

GLENDALE, Ariz. — The first time Zach Edey touched the ball Saturday afternoon, DJ Burns Jr. clenched his teeth and held his ground. There was just one issue when it came to Edey versus Burns: seven inches.Burns was too small for Edey, who could turn and shoot over Burns without issue. Edey scored 20 points and had 12 rebounds in a clunky 63-50 win over NC State that moved Purdue into its first national title game since 1969.The Wolfpack actually had a great plan for Edey, using both Burns and Ben Middlebrooks against him. Both players could hold their ground and NC State’s guards would dig at the ball. They created five Edey turnovers and Middlebrooks was the Edey stopper, allowing Edey to score only one time when Middlebrooks had the assignment.While Edey struggled when he put the ball ...

Iowa vs. South Carolina gives us the ending we wanted and the finale this season deserves

7Apr

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Iowa vs. South Carolina gives us the ending we wanted and the finale this season deserves

CLEVELAND — Just when you thought this women’s basketball season couldn’t give any more, just when you thought it had drained itself of record on-court performances, all-time viewership numbers and compelling grudge matches, it is giving us an opportunity to witness all three in one game, pitting Iowa against South Carolina in the national championship showdown most fans and every ABC executive wanted.It had to end this way, right? Great player versus great team. The quest for the perfect ending versus the pursuit of the perfect season. An opportunity for South Carolina to avenge its only loss of the last two seasons. A way to cap a memorable season with a potentially unforgettable finale.If the Iowa-LSU regional final drew an average of 12.3 million viewers on a Monday night on cable, it...

NCAA Men’s Final Four scouting report: Coaches break down UConn, Bama, NC State and Purdue

6Apr

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NCAA Men’s Final Four scouting report: Coaches break down UConn, Bama, NC State and Purdue

The Athletic has live coverage of NC State vs. Purdue in the Final Four. All season it has felt like we were trending toward an epic national championship showdown between Connecticut and Purdue. Each team is one win away from making that happen, but tricky matchups await them in Glendale, Ariz. There’s NC State and DJ Burns Jr. and the live-and-thrive by the 3 Alabama Crimson Tide.To help break down the matchups, The Athletic reached out to coaches who have faced these teams, asking them to take a break from the transfer portal to provide some analysis, (One coach told me I was the only person who wasn’t a transfer he had and would talk to on Tuesday. I’m honored.) For each team, at least four coaches — a mix of assistants and head coaches — were interviewed to provide an in-depth scout....

They might be giants: Edey, Clingan and Burns a (very) Big 3 at men’s Final Four

6Apr

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They might be giants: Edey, Clingan and Burns a (very) Big 3 at men’s Final Four

GLENDALE, Ariz. — There’s a Japanese word for movies involving giant monsters: kaiju. Godzilla, King Kong, Mothra. You know, the kind of city-destroying mega-beasts entire armies struggle to contain. Audiences love the cartoonish carnage. And the only thing better than one kaiju is multiple kaiju, preferably fighting each other. “Godzilla x Kong” is the No. 1 movie at the box office right now.If you like that one, you’ll love the sequel. But this new entry in the genre isn’t science fiction. These titans are all too real. The 2024 Final Four features three bracket-annihilating kaiju: Purdue’s 7-foot-4, 300-pound Zach Edey, aka “Big Maple;” Connecticut’s 7-foot-2, 280-pound Donovan Clingan, aka “Cling Kong;” and NC State’s 6-foot-9, 300-ish-pound DJ Burns Jr., aka “Beast Boy.”“I think ever...

Ranking 133 college football teams after Week 13: Conference title clashes will tell all

28Nov

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Ranking 133 college football teams after Week 13: Conference title clashes will tell all

The 2023 season comes down to conference championship weekend. We could have the simplest and most impressive College Football Playoff field in the 10-year history of the event, we could have complete chaos or we could have something in between, with a little bit of last-minute drama.Michigan’s win against Ohio State moves the Wolverines up to No. 2 in this week’s rankings and leaves four undefeated Power 5 teams entering the weekend. If Georgia, Michigan, Washington and Florida State win, it’s an easy selection. But the SEC, Pac-12 and ACC games could be very competitive and see undefeated teams lose, giving the committee its hardest decisions since 2014.Oregon still likely has the strongest case among one-loss teams. The Ducks were the top-ranked one-loss team by the committee last week...

Women’s college basketball power rankings: South Carolina returns to a familiar spot

22Nov

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Women’s college basketball power rankings: South Carolina returns to a familiar spot

If the hope was that two weeks of basketball would have given a clearer picture of the hierarchy in women’s college basketball this season, that has not been the case. In fact, most of my conversations since Nov. 6 have featured some variation of, “Wait, is Team X good?”Aside from South Carolina at the top — stop me if you’ve heard that before — every other projected contender has taken its lumps. While the Gamecocks roll through their opposition, most teams around the country need some time to figure out new rosters and systems. Growing pains were expected, like LSU and Virginia Tech integrating new transfers, or Maryland and Indiana dealing with the graduations of WNBA first-round picks.Nevertheless, on the whole, the quality of play around the country has been better than expected. But...

Ranking 133 college football teams after Week 12: Washington deserves more respect

20Nov

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Ranking 133 college football teams after Week 12: Washington deserves more respect

It’s time to put some respect back on Washington’s name.The Huskies are undefeated and have the best win in the country, based on these rankings, but they have continually sat outside the top four of the College Football Playoff selection committee’s in-season rankings. That needs to change this week. After pulling out a 22-20 win against Oregon State on a rainy night in Corvallis, Washington has the most impressive resume in the country. The Huskies move up to No. 2 in this week’s Athletic 133.Washington has wins over Oregon, Arizona, Utah, Oregon State and USC. Nobody can match that many good victories. Yes, the Huskies needed a pick six and a questionable penalty to escape Arizona State and played Stanford close, but no team blows everyone out every single week.Quarterback Michael Peni...

Ranking 133 college football teams after Week 11: Which 10-0 contender is the top dog?

14Nov

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Ranking 133 college football teams after Week 11: Which 10-0 contender is the top dog?

We’re finally in the stretch run. The biggest games have arrived, and the shakeup at the top is underway.Michigan finally played a notable team, taking care of Penn State in Happy Valley. Georgia crushed a top-10 Ole Miss team. Washington held on against Utah and Oregon handled USC. They all have more big games to come in the next two weeks before conference championships.After all of that, there is a change at the top here. Georgia is back to No. 1 in this week’s Athletic 133.The two-time defending national champs have rounded into form, beating up on Kentucky, Florida, Missouri and Ole Miss in their last five games. This past week was a reminder that Georgia at its best again looks like the best team in the country. Oh, and Brock Bowers, one of the nation’s best pass-catchers, is back. ...

College basketball coaching tiers 2023: Dan Hurley moves into Tier 1, John Calipari falls

26Oct

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College basketball coaching tiers 2023: Dan Hurley moves into Tier 1, John Calipari falls

In a sport with 362 teams, one would have to be a dummy to attempt any contextualization of the hierarchy of the coaches who lead the game.Fortunately, we’re not one, but three, such dummies.This is Year 2 of The Athletic’s Men’s Basketball Coaching Tiers. (See last year’s here.) This exercise is meant to go beyond the subjectivity of a numeric coaching ranking or the inherent callousness of the dreaded annual Hot Seat list.Instead, we break down coaches into tiers, trying to find lines of demarcation among groups of coaches, then take those tiers to multiple authorities throughout college hoops, glean their opinions, tweak the tiers as necessary and share our findings with you.Is it a perfect method? No.Will you probably be angry about your favorite coach? Probably.But we’re trying.Crite...

Ranking 133 college football teams after Week 8: Ohio State on top as Penn State, USC slide

23Oct

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Ranking 133 college football teams after Week 8: Ohio State on top as Penn State, USC slide

Sign up for the Until Saturday newsletter | Jayna Bardahl and The Athletic’s college football staff deliver expert analysis on the biggest CFB stories five days per week. Get it sent to your inbox.Week 8 turned out to be Survival Saturday within much of the top 10.Washington escaped Arizona State, thanks to a picked-up flag and a late pick six. Oklahoma escaped UCF by stopping a late two-point conversion. Texas escaped Houston with a fourth down stop. Florida State came back to beat Duke, a game that turned when Duke quarterback Riley Leonard was injured again.As a result, there is a shakeup in this week’s Athletic 133 and a new No. 1: Ohio State. The Buckeyes beat Penn State 20-12, holding the Nittany Lions to a 1-for-16 performance on third down. That gives Ohio State two wins over curr...