Tall Final Four task

The 2024 version of March Madness has reached its apex with a trio of streak busters in the desert.

N.C. State is in the Final Four for the first time since Jim Valvano ran around trying to find someone to hug after the 1983 national championship. Purdue and its big man Zach Edey will be making their first Final Four appearance since Joe Barry Carroll dominated the paint in 1980.

Alabama? Never has been.

A furious pack of Huskies awaits them in the Valley of the Sun.

Dominating en route to a fifth national championship a year ago, UConn has looked even more unbeatable so far in its run to become the first repeat champion since Florida in 2006-07.

“Our defense is elite. Our offense is elite. We get the ball back,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said. “These guys play every possession like it’s the end of the world.”

The Huskies have done nothing but kill their opponents’ hopes throughout their dominant back-to-back streaks in March.

UConn sped its way through the 2023 bracket, winning every game by at least 13 points. It was the best since Indiana in 1981.

These Huskies can be better.