Elite Eight Teams Confident Today

It only lasts completely intact for 24 hours. No, it’s not some weird insect or animal. It’s college basketball’s Elite Eight. The Elite Eight is what remains after Thursday and Friday’s Sweet 16 games. The remaining eight teams battle each other over the second Saturday and Sunday of the NCAA tournament for the right to go to the Final Four.

This year, the Elite Eight is set and there are a few surprises. College basketball fans and bettors have come to expect surprises in the tournament. Remember, it’s called March Madness for a reason. Today, No. 3 Illinois plays No. 1 UConn in the East Regional final. The late game has No. 6 Clemson and No. 4 Alabama squaring off in the West Regional final. Neither of those two teams has ever been to a Final Four. One of them will get their first opportunity.

Elite Eight History

Typically, between two or three No. 1 seeds make the Elite Eight. This year, there are two. UConn and Purdue, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region. Purdue will face No. 2 Tennesee in that region’s final tomorrow. The 2023 NCAA tournament was the first since the NCAA expanded to 64 teams in 1985 that there were no No. 1 seeds in the Elite Eight. 

The lowest seed to ever advance to the Elite Eight was Saint Peter’s, which did so in 2022. The Peacocks upset No. 2 Kentucky in the first round and then beat Murray State and Purdue to move on to the Elite Eight. There have been two No. 12 seeds (Missouri in 2002 and Oregon State in 2021) get this far and this year, the 11th No. 11 seed will play in an Elite Eight matchup tomorrow. 

NC State has won eight straight games to advance to tomorrow’s Elite Eight game with ACC rival Duke, which upset Houston last night.. It’s been 38 years since the Wolfpack have gone this far in an NCAA tournament. Hall of Famer Jim Valvano was the head coach at the time. The lowest seed to ever make the Final Four is No. 11. It has been done five times – LSU (1986), George Mason (2006), VCU (2011), Loyola-Chicago (2018), and UCLA (2021).

Elite Eight Preview

UConn is favored by 8.5 against Illinois tonight. The Huskies have just one loss since Christmas and they are 12-2 ATS in their last 14 games. UConn has won nine straight tournament games by double digits. Illinois, on the other hand, has not lost one game by double digits this season.

Tonight’s second game pits Clemson against Alabama. The Tigers beat the Tide earlier this season. Both teams are much different now. Alabama is the nation’s top-scoring team averaging over 90 points per game. Clemson’s defense has held it’s three tournament opponents to 35.1 percent shooting overall and just 18.7 percent (14-of-75) from three-point range. Alabama is a 3.5-point favorite.

Deluca vs. De Luca – Yesterday’s Leaderboard

Gino De Luca nailed both of his Elite Eight basketball picks yesterday. Mario Deluca – no relation – went 2-1, missing on his CBB pick but hitting an NBA and an MLB prediction. Both were among yesterday’s Top 5 Sports Hub handicappers.

Let’s take a look at their performances.

• Boss Ross: Ross Walker was yesterday’s overall leader. He went 4-0 and added $400 to his bankroll. Ross is now 6-3 over the last three days. He does have picks for today already in the system. You’ll have to check for yourself to see what they are.
• Dan the Man: Dan Jones has put together a pretty solid week. Yesterday, he hit three of four picks to earn $200 in profits. He hit one of two Elite Eight picks and has another on tap for tonight. Over the last seven days, Dan is 15-6 and is up $860. That ranks No. 2 on our 7-day leaderboard.
• Two hundo: Gino De Luca and Scott Wetzel each went 2-0 and picked up $200. Gino, of course, hit both of his CBB picks. That makes him 4-1 in his last five NCAAB picks. Scott is on the 7-day and 30-day leaderboards. He is 10-4 over the last seven days and has won $540. For the month, Scott has hit 63 percent of his picks and is up $1585.
• The other Deluca: Mario Deluca hit two of his three picks yesterday and cashed in $171. 

What’s Trending

It’s the time of year when it’s pretty much all about one thing – basketball. Yes, the 2024 MLB season began this week, but is anybody really paying any attention yet? It’s all about basketball and March Madness right now and that’s what’s trending.

Let’s take a look.

• The ACC: How about Duke and NC State in the Elite Eight? And, they’ll play each other for the right to get to the Final Four. That means six of the last nine Final Fours will have at least one team from the ACC.
• NC State: Speaking of NC State, the Wolfpack won national championships in 1983 and 1974. Both of those wins were surprises. Could NC State do the unthinkable again? The Wolfpack held Marquette to 4-of-31 shooting from three and beat the Eagles 67-58 last night.

• Outshined: It’s not often that you score 61 points in an NBA game and your play is overshadowed by a rookie. That’s exactly what happened last night in San Antonio. New York’s Jalen Brunson poured in 61 points, but Spurs rookie Victor Wembenyana had 40 points and 20 rebounds as San Antonio recorded a 130-126 victory.

Elite Eight Set for Tonight

Illinois and UConn will get everything going in the Elite Eight tonight when they tip off at 6:09 p.m. ET. There are a couple NBA games on the schedule and the NCAA women’s Sweet 16 begins today.

Here’s a look at today’s sports schedule.

1. Elite Eight: The other Elite Eight game tonight is Clemson-Alabama in the West Regional final. That game tips off at 8:49 p.m. ET. Both Elite Eight games will be broadcast by TBS.
2. NBA trifecta: There are just three games on the NBA schedule. Boston, which has lost a rare two straight, plays at New Orleans today at 5 p.m. ET. Memphis is in Orlando and Milwaukee plays the team that beat Boston in two straight – Atlanta – tonight.
3. NCAAW Sweet 16: There are four Sweet 16 games in the NCAA women’s tournament. Colorado takes on Caitlin Clark and Iowa at 3:30 p.m. ET. 
4. Baseball is back: It’s the opening series of the season for all 30 MLB teams. Today’s top games have Atlanta in Philadelphia for a late afternoon start. The Yankees and Astros will continue their four-game series. New York has won both games so far. 
5. Big footy day: The Premier League has eight matches (one is already complete) today. It’s Saturday, so that means MLS. There are 13 MLS matches today, one of which features Inter Miami CF at home against New York City FC. Lionel Messi is hurt and will not play for Miami.

6. Women’s final: The Miami Open women’s final is today. Elena Rybakina will face Danielle Collins at 3:00 p.m. ET. The men’s final is tomorrow.
7. Houston Open: Tony Finau shot a 62 yesterday to take over the lead in the Texas Children’s Houston Open. Round 3 is already underway. Favorite Scottie Scheffler was four strokes behind Finau heading into today.
8. Ice is nice: All but two of the NHL’s 32 teams will be in action today. Vegas is at Minnesota and Toronto is in Buffalo in the two ESPN+/Hulu games today.
9. UFL kickoff: The new United Football League kicks off today at 1 p.m. ET when the Birmingham Stallions face the Arlington Renegades. In the second game today, the St. Louis Battlehawks will play the Michigan Panthers in Detroit. 

That’s all for today. Enjoy the Elite Eight games tonight. Check the Sports Hub members’ area for your favorite handicapper’s Elite Eight picks. If you’re not a member, sign up now. Registering for a new account is free and easy. It also gives you access to the best sports handicappers in the world.