Men’s NCAA Tournament 2024: Saturday’s Elite Eight Winners and Losers

Men’s NCAA Tournament 2024: Saturday’s Elite Eight Winners and Losers0 of 5

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The first two seats at the Final Four table have been filled.

The UConn Huskies continue to steamroll the competition, as they used an absurd 30-0 run and a huge game from Donovan Clingan to cruise to a 77-52 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini, running their streak of NCAA tournament wins by 13 or more points to 10 in a row.

A hot-shooting Alabama team will be their next opponent after the Crimson Tide upended the Clemson Tigers 89-82 in the late game on Saturday night. The Crimson Tide knocked down 16-of-36 shots from beyond the arc and got a huge performance off the bench from freshman Jarin Stevenson.

The last two spots in the Final Four will be decided on Sunday night when Purdue and Tennessee square off in the Midwest Region and ACC foes Duke and NC State square off in the South Region.

For now, let’s take a look at the biggest winners and losers from Saturday night’s action.

Winner: The All-Encompassing Impact of Donovan Clingan1 of 5

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Few players in college basketball are capable of making the sprawling impact on a game that Donovan Clingan had against the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday.

The 7’2″ center is a rare athlete for his size, with the ability to run the floor like a guard, the quick-twitch skills to block anyone who tries to attack the hoop, and the offensive game to be a go-to option when jump shots are not falling.

The sophomore standout filled up the stat sheet, tallying 22 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks, three steals and one assist in only 21 minutes of action, and his stout defense inside played a major role in rattling the high-powered Illinois offense.

It’s not always clear how most college centers will fit into today’s NBA game, but Clingan’s ability to run the floor and protect the basket should make him a lottery pick in this year’s draft if he decides to forgo his remaining eligibility.

First things first, he will be crucial in helping the UConn Huskies chase two more victories in pursuit of their second straight national championship.

A potential head-to-head clash with Purdue star Zach Edey in the national championship game would be must-see TV.

Loser: The High-Scoring Illinois Offense Goes Silent2 of 5

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A made jumper from Illinois guard Marcus Domask with 1:50 remaining in the first half made it a 23-23 game, and it was shaping up to be a grind-it-out battle between two of the nation’s most talented offensive teams.

Who would have guessed that would be the last time Illinois would score for almost an hour of real time?

The next time the Fighting Illini put points on the board was with 12:42 left in the second half, and by that time UConn had ripped off one of the most dominant stretches in recent NCAA tournament memory, putting things completely out of reach with a 30-0 run.

Domask had 15 of the team’s 23 points during the first half, and he finished with a team-high 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 2-of-3 from three-point range.

The rest of the Illinois roster—a group that entered the game ranked No. 2 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency and averaging 84.2 points per game—shot a combined 10-of-54 (18.5%) from the floor en route to a season-low 52 points.

That included a 2-of-12 performance and only eight points from Illini star Terrence Shannon Jr., who came into Friday’s game averaging 31.2 points on 52.8 percent shooting over his last six games going back to the start of the Big Ten tournament.

Winner: A UConn Repeat Looks Inevitable3 of 5

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Can anyone beat UConn?

The Huskies have now won 10 straight NCAA tournament games by at least 13 points going back to last year’s run to the national title, and they came awfully close to handing Illinois the first 30-point loss in the Elite Eight since 1992.

That would be the same Illinois team that didn’t lose a game by double digits all season.

The fact that there were some obvious holes in their performance on Saturday made their dominance that much more impressive.

All-American guard Triston Newton (5 points, 0-of-6 shooting) and star freshman Stephon Castle (2 points, 1-of-6 shooting) were essentially non-factors offensively, and the Huskies shot 3-of-17 from three-point range as a team, but it simply did not matter.

The defending champs are capable of beating teams in such a wide variety of ways that on any given night, one or more of their high-profile stars can fade into the background and they can still blow the doors off a top-tier opponent.

The Purdue Boilermakers are also playing awfully well right now, and anything can happen during March Madness, but it’s starting to feel like a UConn repeat is nothing short of an inevitability.

Loser: A Costly Letdown from Clemson’s Perimeter Defense4 of 5

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Arguably the biggest X-factor for the Clemson Tigers on their run to the Elite Eight was their ability to consistently limit the opposition’s production from three-point range:

New Mexico: 3-of-23 (13.0%)Baylor: 6-of-24 (25.0%)Arizona: 5-of-28 (17.9%)Saturday night’s game against Alabama was the polar opposite.

The Crimson Tide buried 16-of-36 attempts from beyond the arc, with Mark Sears (seven) and Jarin Stevenson (five) leading the onslaught, and 10 of those deep balls came during the decisive second half.

The most threes allowed by Clemson prior to Saturday night’s game was 15 against Georgia Tech in January, and that came in a double-overtime game.

The key to success in the first three rounds proved to be Clemson’s undoing in the Elite Eight.

Winner: A Game-Changing Impact Off the Bench from Jarin Stevenson 5 of 5

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For a team to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament, it sometimes takes a big performance from an unexpected source.

Jarin Stevenson was that guy for the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday night.

The freshman was the highest-rated player in Alabama’s most recent recruiting haul, checking in as the No. 50 overall prospect in the 2023 class and a 4-star talent, but he didn’t make the same immediate impact as some of the nation’s other notable freshmen.

The 6’11” forward averaged 16.5 minutes and tallied 5.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game while hitting 27 three-pointers at a 29.0 percent clip, serving as little more than a decent role player off the bench.

After scoring a combined nine points over the first three games of the NCAA tournament, including 15 scoreless minutes against North Carolina in the Sweet 16, he put together a game-changing night against Clemson.

Stevenson scored a season-high 19 points on 7-of-11 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point range, helping to spark the Alabama offense early on before leading scorer Mark Sears caught fire down the stretch. He also tallied a pair of blocks and helped solidify the Alabama defense on the interior.

No one was surprised to see Sears finish with a team-high 23 points while knocking down several clutch threes down the stretch, but the game that Stevenson put together was a true difference-maker that helped vault Alabama to its first ever Final Four appearance.

Can the Tide slow down the UConn juggernaut?