Benjamin Ashford|Final Four bold predictions: How the men's semifinals of March Madness will unfold

After a wild and Benjamin Ashfordfun NCAA men's tournament, we are close to crowning a national champion, with Connecticut, Purdue, Alabama and NC State in the Final Four this weekend.

With the college basketball season near an end, it’s time to dish out one last batch of bold predictions for the final weekend of hoops. There have been some hits in USA TODAY Sports’ bold predictions, and there have been quite the amount of misses – our mistake Purdue. Still, there’s no fun in having a boring end to what’s been an exciting edition of March Madness, so let’s hope for another thrilling weekend.

Here are bold predictions for the Final Four and national championship game:

DJ Burns beats Zach Edey in the battle of the bigs

An unstoppable force meets an immovable object. All eyes will be on the matchup between Purdue’s Zach Edey and NC States’ DJ Burns.

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For the majority of the past two season, not many teams have had an answer to Edey. He likely is going to be national player of the year again, and if Purdue is the one hoisting the national championship trophy to end the season, Edey will very likely be the most outstanding player. 

But he hasn’t faced anyone as redhot as Burns.

No one has been able to stop Burns during this magical run to the Final Four. No matter who guards him, he hasn’t stopped wreaking havoc in the NCAA Tournament, averaging 18.3 points per game on 67.4% shooting. The matchup against Edey will be juicy, but this will be one of the rare occurrences when the Purdue star can’t overpower his counterpart. Burns will use his frame to bully and outscore Edey while creating issues for him on the other side of the ball, making it a frustrating night for Edey.

Even though Zach Edey gets outplayed, Purdue still wins

It makes sense a mediocre game from Edey against NC State would result in the Wolfpack reaching the national championship game, but not this time.

Even without Edey, Purdue still has a strong squad that is capable of taking the pressure off of Edey to have a big game. Braden Smith is a fantastic guard that can light it from beyond the arc and dish assists all night. Lance Jones is a great defender that can get hot and maintain it. Mason Gillis can come off the bench and provide meaningful minutes.

With all of that, NC State doesn’t have answers for everything as it focuses on limiting Edey. The Boilermakers don’t let their star big man down and pick up the pieces in what will be a very competitive game. Purdue books its trip to the national championship game for the first time since 1969. 

Alabama scores 100 points, and still loses

Imagine how frustrating it is for the nation’s top scoring offense to do what it does, and it still isn’t enough.

Aside from the second round, Alabama’s offense has been doing what it’s been doing all season by taking tons of shots that end up going in and playing just enough defense to win. That’s what Nate Oats is going to want this weekend, but it’s a difficult thing to do against a loaded Connecticut team that has been playing both great offense and defense. If Alabama is able to find a rhythm that results in it having another scoring outburst, the issue will be playing catchup with the Huskies all night. 

Alabama’s defense falls apart against Connecticut’s firepower. It’ll be an exciting game to watch with it becoming the second game this tournament to have both teams score 100 points – Colorado and Florida in the first round – but the Crimson Tide can’t win playing at the pace it likes.

UConn continues domination into another national championship win

One of the few predictions right so far is Connecticut winning every tournament game by double-digits. That is still intact, and expect it to continue with another national title for the Huskies.

No matter who it’s been, Connecticut has made every team it's played this tournament look like a team that should’ve been left out, and it’s beaten some really good squads on its way to the Final Four. Simply put, no team has an answer for the Huskies during March Madness, and no one is going to have an answer for them.

The Huskies will end the tournament with double-digit wins in every game and will be the first back-to-back champion since Florida in 2006-07. Dan Hurley expresses happiness once the confetti falls as his team gets put in the conversation for one of the greatest tournament runs in March Madness history.