The Elite 8 kicks off Saturday night and there are some stats and metrics to keep in mind.
1. Alabama – 34.3
That’s how many points per game the trio of Aaron Estrada, Grant Nelson, and Latrell Wrightsell Jr. are averaging. They all transferred into the Alabama basketball program last offseason and have been crucial in guiding the Crimson Tide to the Elite 8. They are one win away from the first Final Four in program history.
2. Clemson – 397
Joe Girard III is in his 5th season and between his time in Syracuse and Clemson has connected on 397 three-pointers. The other four usual Clemson starters (PJ Hall, Chase Hunter, Chauncey Wiggins, Jack Clark) have hit a combined 412 in their careers. Mind you, Hunter and Clark are 5th-year seniors, Hall is a senior, and Wiggins is a sophomore. In other words, JG3 is just on another level when it comes to draining deep shots.
3. Duke – 2,600,000
Jared McCain has 2.6 million followers on TikTok, about 1.7 million more than Duke basketball. It’s a new age in college hoops where the Big Dance means March Madness and a video after a Sweet 16 win.
4. Illinois – 41
Terrence Shannon Jr. is an elite scorer and for 41 straight games, he’s posted at least 10 points. The streak dates back to Jan. 31, 2023. The last time he didn’t score 10 points was when Wisconsin held him to 6 on 2-of-6 shooting.
5. NC State – 3.40
Rounded up, that’s how many pounds per inch DJ Burns weighs. The man is an absolute beast in the paint and has ridiculous quickness for that size. For a good comparison, I’m fairly average at 5-10, 180 pounds. That’s 2.57 pounds per inch. At 6-1, 284, Aaron Donald is 3.89 pounds per inch. DJ Burns is a defensive lineman playing college basketball and you can’t do ANYTHING about it.
6. Purdue – 16
Instead of counting up how many double-doubles Zach Edey’s had in the last TWO seasons, let’s look at how many times he HASN’T scored at least 10 points and grabbed at least 10 boards. That’s right. Just 16 times. In 54 of his 70 games over the past two years, Edey has registered a double-double. The Boilermakers have the most dominant big man in March Madness and it’s not even close.
7. Tennessee – .500
This is more of a Rick Barnes stat, but the Vols head coach entered this year’s March Madness with a 27-27 career record in the tournament. For a coach with over 800 career wins, that’s not nearly where you would like to be in terms of postseason success. Barnes may be the best active coach without a championship, so the Vols are looking to make that resume a bit better.
8. UConn – 32
UConn has lost two non-conference games in the past 34 tries. The other 32 have resulted in wins by double-digits. Think about that. In the last 34 non-conference games, UConn has won by 10+ points 94% of the time. The Big East can be a grind, but apparently, no other conference has figured out Dan Hurley’s Huskies.