NCAA Tournament 2019: 5 best potential Final Four matchups

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 21: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils drives to the basket during the finals of the Maui Invitational college basketball game against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 21, 2018 in Lahaina Hawaii. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

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HARTFORD, CT – MARCH 23: Purdue Boilermakers guard Carsen Edwards (3) during the NCAA Division I Men’s Championship second round college basketball game between the Villanova Wildcats and the Purdue Boilermakers on March 23, 2019 at XL Center in Hartford, CT. (Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

4. Purdue Boilermakers vs. Auburn Tigers

This is probably not a matchup that many people would have on their lists of the best potential Final Four matchups in the 2019 NCAA Tournament, and perhaps that makes sense. The worst version of a matchup between the Purdue Boilermakers and Auburn Tigers, the No. 3 seed from the South Region and No. 5 seed from the Midwest Region, respectively, would be hard to watch. However, why that’s the case is why this makes my list.

Though the Boilermakers and Tigers play contrasting brands of basketball and how they want to control the pace — Matt Painter’s team prefers slowing it down while Bruce Pearl’s team loves to push it to a high gear — they are two of the most hot-and-cold teams in the country. The hot part can be electrifying, but the cold games can be hard to stomach.

Whenever Auburn’s stars like Bryce Brown and Justin Harper are bombing from 3-point range and making, they are hard to keep up with. However, when that isn’t happening, they can be beaten by any team remaining in the tournament field. Having said that, it’s the same case with Purdue and Carsen Edwards. When he’s feeling it, they’re hard to touch, but are a very pedestrian team when he’s not hitting his shots.

While this is a high variance matchup that could be fantastic or awful, the best version of this game would be a thrill to watch for hoops fans. Watching Edwards and the Auburn guards trade buckets on each possession would truly be a treat of a Final Four matchup.

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