Somebody Up There likes college basketball. Has to. The basketball gods aren’t just smiling on the Final Fours this year — both genders — they are giving them big hugs and kisses on each cheek.
Let’s put the Final Fours next to one another to explain.
The men. Defending champion and rampaging Connecticut made it, with dazed tournament victims scattered behind in its wake.
The women. Unbeaten South Carolina made it. The Gamecocks will be there with its 36-0 record and its championship pedigree and a remade lineup that has flexed the same old muscle. All the starters are gone from 2023, but the more things changed, the more they stayed the same in Columbia.
The men. Zach Edey, everyone’s national player of the year and king of the paint will be there. He’s coming off a remarkable regional championship game of 40 points and 16 rebounds.
The women. Caitlin Clark, everyone’s national player of the year and queen of the 3-point arc, will be there. She just had an extraordinary regional championship game of 41 points and 12 assists. A few of the 3-pointers in Albany were taken from Utica.
TRACKING CAITLIN CLARK: Follow the Iowa star’s biggest games and highlights this season
The men. NC State will be bringing its underdog story, confounding logic, overturning…
