NCAA Tournament

Travis Scott is excited for Caitlin Clark's rematch with Angel Reese and LSU. Just like the rest of us.

The hip-hop artist posted the following on social media, ostensibly pumped for Monday's Elite Eight matchups featuring 1-seed Iowa vs. 3-seed LSU and 1-seed USC vs. 3-seed UConn:

From the moment LSU beat Iowa in the national championship game last season—and Reese dropped a face-wash celebration in Clark's face and pointed at her ring finger—the hype for a rematch between these teams has been at a fevered pitch.

It should be noted that both players have said—repeatedly at this point—that they don't dislike each other and there's no lingering animosity.

"I don't think people realize it's not personal," Reese told reporters Sunday. "Once we get out between those lines, if I see you walking down the street, it's like, 'Hey, girl, what's up? Let's hang out.' I think people just take it like we hate each other. Me and Caitlin Clark don't hate each other. I want everybody to understand that. It's just a super-competitive game."

"Once I get between those lines, there's no friends," she continued. "I'm going to talk trash to you. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get in your head the whole entire game, but after the game, we can kick it. I don't think people really realize that."

Clark concurred.

"Me and Angel have always been great competitors," she told reporters. "Obviously she played in the Big Ten for a while to begin her career, and that's what makes women's basketball so fun is you have great competition, and that's what we've had all year long. I think Angel would say the same."

That level of respect is admirable, but the hype for this game is off the charts regardless. When you get to watch the defending champions take on the best player in college basketball—with some juicy history serving as the backdrop—you don't miss it.

USC vs. UConn isn't chopped liver, however. USC freshman JuJu Watkins is one of the most compelling players in the sport, while the powerhouse Huskies are led by star Paige Bueckers.

It's a matchup with great contrast. USC is seeking to reach its first Final Four since 1986. UConn, meanwhile, has won 11 national titles dating back to 1995 and is the gold standard in the women's game. LSU vs. Iowa may be the main event, but watching Watkins attempt to slay a giant is one hell of a second act.

DJ Burns Jr. and the Cinderella North Carolina State Wolfpack are still dancing.

NC State, which is the No. 11 seed in the South Region of the 2024 NCAA men's tournament, advanced to its first Final Four since 1983 with a stunning 76-64 victory over fourth-seeded Duke in Sunday's Elite Eight matchup.

The Wolfpack are the underdog story of the tournament and prevented their ACC rivals from reaching an impressive 18th Final Four in program history.

Burns, perhaps better known as America's favorite big man, dominated the Blue Devils with 29 points on 13-of-19 shooting from the field. It wasn't just a one-man show, as DJ Horne posted 20 points, four boards and three assists in the victory.

Still, it was Burns who drew much of the social media reaction:

Despite the excellent game, Burns found himself in early foul trouble and relegated to the bench as the Blue Devils built a six-point halftime lead. Jared McCain (32 points) was almost the entire offense with Kyle Filipowski struggling, although both offenses were largely disjointed going into intermission.

That cushion didn't last long into the second half, though, as NC State battled back to take the lead even with Burns and Mohamed Diarra continuing to deal with foul trouble as they battled Filipowski on the blocks.

Horne finding his touch as a scorer alongside Burns played a significant role in the comeback and put Duke's back against the wall heading into the stretch run.

It didn't help the Blue Devils that Filipowski was also in significant foul trouble, which left them without an obvious matchup for Burns as the Wolfpack star either powered his way through or spun right past defenders with incredible grace for his size.

The two-man game extended NC State's lead to double digits with Duke continuing to guard Burns down low with single coverage and the guards struggling to stay in front of Horne. By the time Filipowski fouled out, the game was all but over with the Blue Devils ice cold on the offensive side.

Burns and Co. might face their biggest test with a Final Four showdown against Zach Edey and Purdue, but North Carolina State has a monumental victory over Duke to celebrate first.

Zach Edey, at least for now, has his defining moment.

Purdue's star big man delivered in crunch time and led the Boilermakers to a 72-66 victory over second-seeded Tennessee in Sunday's Elite Eight battle in the 2024 NCAA men's tournament.

The Boilermakers, who are the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1980 and continued their run toward a potential national title the year after a stunning first-round loss to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson.

As for the Volunteers, they fell just one win short of their first Final Four in program history despite Dalton Knecht posting 37 points and outscoring the rest of his team combined.

Yet he wasn't even the game's biggest star, as Edey tallied 40 points and 16 boards on 13-of-21 shooting from the field. Fittingly, he drew plenty of reaction on social media:

Purdue ended up winning, but Tennessee set the tone in the early going. The SEC representative extended its lead to double digits in the first half as Knecht drained three-pointers and Zakai Zeigler facilitated.

However, the Boilermakers broke out a 13-0 run by consistently pounding the ball down low to Edey. The Volunteers had no answer, and the Big Ten team took a 36-34 lead into intermission despite its early struggles from the outside.

The Knecht and Edey show continued into the second half with both stars going back and forth. The former was unstoppable from deep, while the latter overpowered his way through defenders on the block as they traded impressive plays.

Tennessee's only chance to stop the big man was by fouling him, and the whistles started to add up with Tobe Awaka fouling out and Purdue reaching the bonus early in the second half.

To the Volunteers' credit, they had plenty of answers thanks to Knecht's offense and strong perimeter defense that prevented the Boilermakers from pulling away and generating much outside of Edey.

It eventually turned into a show with Knecht dropping in shots from seemingly everywhere and Edey spinning his way through the lane. Perhaps the best solution would have been to clear the floor and let them play one-on-one, but they surely couldn't have stopped each other either.

All it would take is someone else to contribute in a critical moment to swing the game, and that is exactly what happened when Lance Jones drained a monster three in the last three minutes for Purdue to extend its advantage to six.

From there, Edey swatted Knecht in the last minute to clinch the win and put the exclamation point on an incredible performance.

UConn may be the tournament favorite still, but the unstoppable version of Edey that was on display Sunday could lead Purdue to a title. Next up is a Final Four showdown against the winner of the game between Duke and North Carolina State.

You can safely bet that George Karl won't be rooting for either Duke or NC State when the ACC teams meet in the Elite Eight at the men's NCAA tournament on Sunday.

The former NBA head coach and North Carolina alum joked on social media that he'd rather see the teams tied and each get eliminated:

Obviously such an outcome isn't possible, but you would expect a North Carolina supporter to get creative hoping for outcomes that didn't benefit an in-state rival.

Karl, 72, attended UNC between 1970-73, averaging 13.8 points and 4.2 assists across his college career. The New York Knicks selected him in the fourth round of the 1973 NBA draft, though he instead signed with the San Antonio Spurs—at that time in the ABA—and played with the team for five seasons, including San Antonio's first two in the NBA after its merger with the ABA.

He was better known for his professional coaching career, however, which included stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers (1984-85 to 1985-86), Golden State Warriors (1986-87 to 1987-88), Seattle Supersonics (1991-92 to 1997-98), Milwaukee Bucks (1998-99 to 2002-03), Denver Nuggets (2004-05 to 2012-13) and Sacramento Kings (2014-15 to 2015-16).

He finished his career with a 1175-824 record, the sixth most wins in NBA history. He led his teams to the playoffs 22 times, was the league's Coach of the Year in the 2012-13 season and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022. All that eluded him during his coaching career was an NBA title.

Karl's Tar Heels disappointed in this year's NCAA tournament. Despite being a No. 1 seed, North Carolina bowed out in the Sweet 16 against No. 4 seed Alabama in one of the games of the tournament, an 89-87 thriller.

In what may provide a sliver of consolation for UNC fans, Alabama then went on to beat the ACC's Clemson Tigers and reach the Final Four. These Crimson Tide have proven to be a buzzsaw, though their prize for earning the first Final Four in program history is a date with the defending champion UConn Huskies.

The ACC, meanwhile, is guaranteed to have one Final Four entry in either 4-seed Duke or 11-seed NC State, much to the chagrin of Karl.

Alabama is heading to its first Final Four in program history after handling Clemson 89-82 Saturday night.

The fourth-seeded Crimson Tide went back and forth with the No. 6 Tigers for much of the game, going into a shootout late in the second half that kept things close. A late push from Alabama fueled by star guard Mark Sears helped the Tide pull away in the final minutes to advance.

Sears finished with 23 points, and freshman forward Jarin Stevenson added 19 off the bench.

After Alabama's Final Four push, fans praised the Crimson Tide on the team's outstanding March Madness run.

Alabama moves on to face No. 1 UConn, which has looked poised to become a back-to-back champion. The Crimson Tide have already defeated a No. 1 seed in North Carolina in the Sweet 16, but the Huskies were the top overall seed for a reason. If Alabama's electric offense can keep up with UConn, it could be on its way to a national championship appearance.