Men's NCAA Tournament 2024: Ultimate Guide to the Elite Eight

The 2024 men's NCAA tournament field is down to the Elite Eight.

On Thursday, No. 3 seed Illinois claimed a three-point victory over No. 2 seed Iowa State and its vaunted defense, No. 1 UConn cruised to a 30-point victory over No. 5 San Diego State, and No. 4 Alabama and No. 6 Clemson sent the top two seeds in the West Region packing with victories over No. 1 North Carolina and No. 2 Arizona.

Friday's action kicked off with No. 11 NC State continuing its unlikely run with a win over No. 2 Marquette, while Zach Edey and No. 1 Purdue scored a lopsided win over No. 5 Gonzaga. The late games saw No. 4 Duke upset a No. 1 Houston squad that was without Jamal Shead for the entire second half, and No. 2 Tennessee completed the Elite Eight field with a win over No. 3 Creighton.

Now it's time for our Elite Eight preview before action resumes Saturday evening.

Ahead you'll find the schedule for Saturday's and Sunday's games and then a complete breakdown of each of the four games on tap with a spot in the Final Four on the line.

Saturday

No. 1 UConn vs. No. 3 Illinois, 6:09 p.m. ET (TBS)

No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 6 Clemson, 8:49 p.m. ET (TBS)

Sunday

No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 2 Tennessee, 2:20 p.m. ET (CBS)

No. 4 Duke vs. No. 11 NC State, 5:05 p.m. ET (CBS)

Purdue Scouting Report

The Boilermakers have one of the most unstoppable players in recent college basketball history in Zach Edey, and teams almost have to assume he is going to get his 20 points and 10 rebounds and plan around that production. The trouble is, they also shoot 40.9 percent from three-point range (1st in NCAA) and average 18.8 assists per game (2nd in NCAA).

If Edey gets into foul trouble or the three ball goes cold, they can be beaten, but they are rolling right now.

Tennessee Scouting Report

The Volunteers check some championship roster boxes with a go-to scorer in Dalton Knecht (21.1 PPG), an experienced point guard and lockdown defender in Zakai Zeigler (11.7 PPG, 6.0 APG) and a quality big man in Jonas Aidoo (12.0 PPG, 7.6 RPG). For all the hype surrounding the defense of Big 12 squads Houston and Iowa State, the Volunteers are a close third in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency.

The Volunteers lost 71-67 to Purdue at the Maui Invitational, so it will be interesting to see what Rick Barnes cooks up for Round 2.

Tournament Standout: Zach Edey, Purdue

The 7'4" center is averaging 26.7 points on 64.7 percent shooting and pulling down 16.3 rebounds per game during Purdue's tournament run thus far, and that represents a slight uptick from the 24.5 points and 12.1 rebounds he averages on the year. He is the embodiment of "you can only hope to contain him" at this point in his career.

Duke Scouting Report

The Blue Devils beat NC State by 15 points on the road on March 4, but the Wolfpack returned the favor with a win in the ACC tournament, so these teams have already seen each other twice this month. One of the knocks on this Duke team heading into the tournament was a poor record in close games, so grinding out a 54-51 victory over Houston helps ease some of those concerns.

Kyle Filipowski (16.6 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.9 APG) leads five players who average in double figures, and while the Blue Devils are not overly reliant on the three ball, they do shoot it well with a 38.1 percent clip from deep.

NC State Scouting Report

The metrics don't mean much at this point when it comes to the Wolfpack, as this is simply a different NC State team than the one that lost four straight to close out the regular season and was an afterthought in Bracketology conversations before claiming the automatic bid.

The Wolfpack don't force a ton of turnovers, but they do a nice job defending the perimeter, and that was evident in Marquette's brutal 4-of-31 showing from beyond the arc on Friday.

Tournament Standout: D.J. Burns Jr., NC State

Burns had a season-high 27 points on 12-of-19 shooting in the Wolfpack's loss to Duke back on March 4, so he's one to watch in this matchup. The 6'9", 260-pound forward is a handful in the post, and after tallying 16 points against Texas Tech and 24 points and 11 rebounds against Oakland, he matched a season high with seven assists in Friday's win against Marquette. The big man can make an impact in a variety of ways.

UConn Scouting Report

Going back to last year's run to a national championship, the Huskies are working on a nine-game streak of beating opponents by double digits in the NCAA tournament. All five starters average in double figures, with do-it-all guard Tristen Newton leading the way with 15.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game. They can knock down threes, drive to the basket and win the battle inside with 7'2" center Donovan Clingan, who is also one of the nation's best rim protectors.

This team might just be a runaway freight train.

Illinois Scouting Report

The Illini offense squared off against a relentless Iowa State defense in the Sweet 16 and led the entire game, escaping with a hard-fought 72-69 victory. Guard Terrence Shannon Jr. is one of the most prolific scorers in the nation, Marcus Domask is a reliable second option, and Coleman Hawkins is a matchup nightmare and major X-factor when he's on his game.

The question is whether a team that ranks No. 84 in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency can do enough to slow down the equally prolific UConn offense.

Tournament Standout: Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois

After a 29-point performance against the Cyclones on Thursday, Shannon is now averaging 31.2 points over his last six games going back to the start of the Big Ten tournament. He went off for 40 points against Nebraska on March 16 and is capable of filling it up like few others in college basketball.

Alabama Scouting Report

The red flag for the Crimson Tide heading into March Madness was a less-than-stellar track record against elite-level competition, including several double-digit losses. Facing off against Charleston and Grand Canyon during the opening weekend didn't exactly erase those concerns, but an 89-87 victory over No. 1 seed North Carolina on Thursday did in resounding fashion.

Point guard Mark Sears (21.4 PPG, 4.1 APG) leads four players who average in double figures, and Alabama can push the tempo better than any team left in the tournament field.

Clemson Scouting Report

The Tigers did a great job shutting down terrific three-point shooting teams in their wins over Baylor (6-of-24) and Arizona (5-of-28), and now they will look to do the same against an Alabama squad that ranks 27th in the nation with a 36.8 percent clip from deep. The Tigers went 6-7 this year in games where they allowed 75 or more points, so they will look to slow things down against an Alabama team that wants to run.

Leading scorer PJ Hall needs to stay out of foul trouble after he spent significant time on the bench in the team's first two games of the NCAA tournament.

Tournament Standout: Mark Sears, Alabama

Sears has scored at least 20 points in 19 of his last 22 games going back to the start of 2024, and he had 30 points against Charleston and 26 against Grand Canyon to kick off his NCAA tournament run. The 6'1" guard did not have to do quite as much with a strong showing from his supporting cast against North Carolina, but he is the catalyst for the Crimson Tide.