The North Carolina State Wolfpack beat the Duke Blue Devils 76-64 on Sunday, March 31st, 2024. This win gave NC State the fourth and last spot in the “Final Four” group stage of the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament. The other three teams having made it were Purdue, UConn, and Alabama. NC State and Alabama will be taking on Purdue and UConn respectively this Saturday, giving both teams time to prepare for one of the most high-stakes stages of this tournament. To some peoples dismay, this means that March Madness is coming to a close as the Men’s Championship is only three games away.
“My bracket busted a long time ago, but I didn’t see ‘Bama getting into the Final Four at all”, student Sidharth Krishnan said. “I’m gonna go with UConn to win the whole thing. I think they’re the safest option.”
People have been keeping up with the tournament using various methods, and a big part of March Madness is the bracket challenge. Fans nationwide, some of which don’t even follow College Basketball, participate in this challenge. Only 297 entries correctly picked the Final Four teams this year according to the NCAA. Additionally, the last verifiable perfect bracket made it to the 31st game of the tournament, an increase from last year. Millions of brackets are created and busted every year due to major upsets that can occur in any given game. This was the case with the #11 Wolfpack and the #4 Blue Devils.
