| The men's Final Four will be like turning on an old VHS tape, ushering in a sentiment of nostalgia.
Three of the four teams feature an old-fashioned big man as one of their top, if not the top, scorers.
Purdue's Zach Edey, at 7-foot-4, leads the country in scoring, averaging 25.0 points per game while adding 12.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks.
Donovan Clingan, at 7-foot-2, is fourth on UConn in scoring at 12.9 points per game while adding 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.
And the burly DJ Burns Jr., at 6-foot-9 but a massive 275 pounds, has emerged as the NCAA Tournament's breakout star and fan favorite while ranking second on upstart NC State in scoring, averaging 13.0 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.6 blocks.
Each has been instrumental to his team's success. None are 3-point shooters — they combined to average just 0.4 3-point attempts per game.
Welcome back to old-school bully ball. It's a refreshing sight.
While the NBA has increasingly phased out big men who can't play on the perimeter or aren't hyper-athletic, that player profile is still thriving at the college level.
 Donovan Clingan has put UConn in position to claim consecutive national titles.
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But that, of course, raises the question — what are these throwback players' NBA draft prospects?
"First of all, I hate to be the guy that says in any given year that 'this is a bad draft,' but this is a bad draft, as far as future prospects go," Fran Fraschilla, who previously coached St. John's, Manhattan and New Mexico and is now an ESPN college basketball and NBA draft analyst, told Sports+. "They're a little fewer and far between than a normal class. So right off the bat, an Edey or Clingan, particularly, take on added significance because you're gonna be gambling on somebody anyway. There's a more likely chance based on how they both played lately that you're gonna gamble on a guy that's 7-foot-2 or 7-foot-4. That's the first thing going for them: There's not a plethora of can't-miss guys in the top five, six, seven that you go 'OK, these guys are nearly sure things.' So you're more willing to roll the dice on a guy this size with this kind of production."
Clingan has emerged with the highest expectations. A handful of recent mock drafts have him going in the top 10 — and ESPN's latest has Clingan all the way up at No. 3.
What separates him?
"He's got this unique combination of size, length — 7-foot-7 wingspan, he's a little bit more mobile," Fraschilla said. "For a man that's 7-foot-2, I wouldn't say he's graceful, but for a guy that's 7-foot-2, he's certainly athletic. He moves his feet better than Edey, and maybe has a chance to defend more on the perimeter and in switches than Edey. Even when you switch onto a bigger guy, if you know how to use your size and length, you can always space the floor."
 Brook Lopez has become a model of how a traditional big man can transform his game by working on his jumpshot.
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Though Clingan is just 2-of-7 from 3-point range this year, Fraschilla believes there's evidence he can develop into the type of shooter NBA teams crave.
"If you have a 7-foot-2 guy with a 7-foot-7 wingspan who already shows he can defend the lane and he's making 3s, then you have a souped-up Brook Lopez on your hands," Fraschilla said. "The league has proven that guys like Clingan eventually should be able to shoot the 3-point shot at a higher level than he is right now. And that just adds to his value. … I think Donovan has the chance to be a very effective two-way player."
Then there's Edey, whose NBA skill set is much more polarizing due to his lack of speed and agility. He's largely been projected to go in the middle of the first round, though opinions of him vary greatly.
But Fraschilla wasted no time giving his NBA comparison.
"To me, Edey is like Yao Ming," Fraschilla said. "And Yao came along at a time when centers were in vogue. But I think a good coach and a good organization will figure out how to use his incredible size because he does protect the basket."
 Though he does not fit the profile of the modern NBA center, Zach Edey reminds ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla of Yao Ming in his ability to patrol the paint.
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That ability to be an immediate rim protector will be Edey's greatest attribute to NBA scouts, even if his lack of athleticism will limit his role.
"The one thing he does is he's a rim protector, just by virtue of his size," Fraschilla said. "And that's valuable in the NBA. Now, he obviously has some deficiencies when it comes to moving his feet. Teams that try to get him in pick-and-roll situations out on the floor, they're obviously gonna try to do that. Initially, you might not be looking at a 32-34 minute-per-game player. You may be looking at a guy that can change the tempo of the game for 16-18 minutes because of his size. … But there is a place for a guy with this unique size, strength and ability to protect the rim."
Fraschilla believes Edey could be helped on offensive as the double and triple teams he's seen in college dissipate in the NBA, which should give him more space to operate, though Fraschilla reiterated Edey will be drafted mostly for his rim protection.
Burns' path to the NBA is much more uncertain, and he's largely missing from most mock drafts — so much so people have begun talking about Burns converting to an NFL offensive tackle.
Despite his recent stardom, there are few players in the NBA with Burns' physique. But is there any chance he can surprise people and have an NBA career?
 Without the typical dimensions of an NBA center, NC State star DJ Burns Jr. faces a challenging road to reach the league.
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"He's a unique player," Fraschilla said. "The closest thing we've seen to him recently was Kenny Lofton from Louisiana Tech. Kenny is still bouncing around, trying to find himself in the NBA. DJ has certainly been a revelation, especially at the end of the year when you see how much he can affect the game. … I think his road to the NBA is gonna be more challenging because undersized big guys [like him], he's not your standard NBA athlete at his position. So he's gonna have more of an adjustment. He's certainly skilled. He has to carve out a niche, he has to stay in great shape."
Their skill sets will have to evolve for the NBA, but Clingan and Edey — and maybe even Burns — have the chance to show dominant college big men still can carve out important roles at the next level.
And perhaps even help usher back in a new era of big-man dominance.
"The big man [role] runs its cycles," Fraschilla said. "When you compare Clingan and Edey, particularly, they happen to be enormous human beings who are skilled at the game. … The simple fact is, a good team, an organization with a plan and a coaching style, will figure out a way to use these guys to be the most effective they can be.
"Even if it seems like the big man has kind of been cycled out of the NBA game, there's always guys that come back and recycle back into it at that size."
How to watch the men's Final Four — Saturday in Glendale, Ariz.
No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 11 NC State, 6:09 p.m. ET, TBS
No. 1 UConn vs. No. 4 Alabama, 8:49 p.m. ET, TBS
Today's back page  New York Post
Truth in advertising For as heavily anticipated the Iowa-LSU rematch was, is it possible the game exceeded the hype?
Caitlin Clark was sensational, erupting for 41 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds to lead No. 1 Iowa past No. 3 LSU and into the women's Final Four, a year after the Tigers toppled the Hawkeyes in the final.
"Clark did it the way the superstars do it, in any sport," The Post's Steve Serby writes in his column from Albany. "She lifted her team, and lifted the entire state of Iowa at the same time, after these last two years of elevating women's basketball to soaring, unprecedented heights."
Clark set the all-time Division I record for career 3-pointers made by pouring in nine — some from ridiculous distance — to reach a career total of 540.
"Every single time the moment is big, she meets the moment," ESPN's Rebecca Lobo told Serby. "It's like nothing I've ever seen."
 Hailey Van Lith and LSU had few answers to slow down Caitlin Clark, who scored 41 in leading Iowa back to the Final Four.
AP
LSU counterpart Angel Reese, who was hobbled after picking up an early ankle injury, finished with 17 points, 20 rebounds and four assists.
"I'm still a human," Reese said in a teary post-game press conference. "All this has happened since I won the national championship, and I said the other day I haven't been happy since then. And it sucks, but I still wouldn't change anything, and I would still sit here and say I'm unapologetically me."
Now Iowa heads into another star-studded matchup against No. 3 UConn, 80-73 winners over USC on Monday night. Basketball fans have clamored for a showdown between Clark and Huskies standout Paige Bueckers, and now they'll get it.
But bet against Clark at your own risk.
How to watch the women's Final Four — Friday in Cleveland
No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 3 NC State, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
No. 1 Iowa vs. No. 3 UConn, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
The scoreboard ✅ Yankees 5, Diamondbacks 2: The Yankees are off to a 5-0 start for the first time since 1992. Anthony Volpe, showcasing a revamped swing, recorded the first four-hit game of his career, and fill-in starter Luis Gil touched 100 on the radar gun in racking up six strikeouts in 4 ²/₃ innings of one-run ball.
❌ Tigers 5, Mets 0 (10): The Mets are off to an 0-4 start for the first time since 2005. They wasted a gem by Sean Manaea, who took a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his Mets debut. Joey Wendle's defensive flub opened the floodgates for the Tigers in the 10th inning, and the team continued to struggle at the plate.
 Anthony Volpe comes in to score during the Yankees' win over the Diamondbacks, their fifth in a row to open the season.
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❌ Penguins 5, Rangers 2: The Rangers maintain a one-point edge in the Presidents' Trophy race after their five-game winning streak was snapped. Kaapo Kakko and Jack Roslovic scored in the third period to make it 3-2 before the Penguins added a pair of empty-netters.
✅ Islanders 4, Flyers 3 (OT): Brock Nelson scored the overtime winner in a seesaw game — the Flyers had tied it with 9.6 seconds left in regulation — the Islanders needed to win to preserve their playoff hopes. The Islanders now trail the Capitals by three points for the second wild card with eight games left (the Caps have nine).
❌ Pacers 133, Nets 111: The Nets (29-47) can be officially eliminated from playoff contention if they lose Wednesday's rematch at Barclays Center.
Benched A glaring Knicks weakness has emerged in recent weeks.
Despite Jalen Brunson's brilliance, it's become clear he can't carry the team all by himself.
It's also hard to expect any of the other players who have started in recent games to dramatically increase their production. (In fact, Miles McBride already has delivered more, averaging 13.9 points per game in March — way up from the 6.1 points per game he averaged up until that point.)
 The Knicks have turned their offense over to Jalen Brunson even more than usual in recent weeks with Julius Randle and OG Anunoby missing time.
Robert Sabo for the NY Post
But after getting just 18 of their 112 points from the bench during Sunday night's heartbreaking 113-112 loss to the Thunder, the Knicks need more from those not in the starting lineup if they are going to maintain their top-four seeding in the East, let alone go on a deep playoff run.
In March, during which the Knicks owned a 9-5 record, they got 25.7 points per game from their bench, third-fewest in the NBA. That group combined to shoot a lowly 43.2 percent from the field — sixth-worst in the league — and 32.8 percent from 3-point range, eighth-worst.
The Knicks averaged only 13.8 minutes from their bench players per game, tied for the least in the league during that stretch. Put simply, the Knicks are getting miniscule contributions from the bench, and it's starting to catch up to them.
Much of the cause is obvious — with OG Anunoby (a new designation of "tennis elbow") and Julius Randle (shoulder) sidelined, Josh Hart and McBride — two strong bench pieces most of the year — have been inserted into the starting lineup, leaving the bench further depleted.
 Bojan Bogdanovic has not provided the Knicks' bench the scoring boost the team hoped he would when he was acquired before the trade deadline.
Robert Sabo for the NY Post
It wasn't supposed to be this way.
The Knicks acquired Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks from the Pistons ahead of the trade deadline, in exchange for Quentin Grimes, Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn, Ryan Arcidiacono and two future second-round picks, to replenish and provide some scoring punch to the bench.
But so far, both have been disappointments. Bogdanovic has averaged just 10.1 points per game on 40.6 percent shooting from the field and 35.1 percent shooting from 3-point range since arriving to the Knicks. Burks has been far worse, averaging 7.6 points per game on a brutal 31.6 percent shooting from the field and 30.4 percent from behind the arc since the trade.
And it's as uncertain as ever when Anunoby and Randle will return to the lineup, and if they do, in what condition. As Hart put it following Sunday's game, "We've got to approach it every game and the end of this season that those guys aren't coming back, and if they do be pleasantly surprised."
Without those two, the Knicks need more from their bench — a lot more.
A ray of sunshine amid a cloudy outlook This can be viewed one of two ways.
It can either be a tonic to an otherwise nightmarish start to the Mets' season or incite anger due to the fact he could have been on the MLB roster, helping the team right now.
 Mark Vientos' hot start at Syracuse is a silver lining in what has been a dispiriting start to the Mets' season.
Corey Sipkin for the NY Post
Either way, let's check in on Mark Vientos' hot start at Triple-A.
In three games with Syracuse, Vientos is 3-for-9 with a home run, a double, two RBIs and three walks and just one strikeout. He's slashing .333/.500/.778 with a 1.278 OPS.
Brett Baty, who competed with Vientos (and beat him out) for the big club's third base job, has gone 2-for-8 at the plate to start the season, though he did add a three-run homer in Saturday's 7-6 loss to the Brewers. He already has four strikeouts, however, with no walks. He's slashing .250/.250/.625 with an .875 OPS.
Vientos also was competing to be the team's designated hitter, though J.D. Martinez's arrival pushed him down the pecking order there as well.
Martinez has started in the minors with Single-A Port St. Lucie after signing late in spring training. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said Monday that Martinez is getting at-bats in controlled environments (because the Single-A season has not started yet) and that brass will reconvene in the next few days to decide whether to send Martinez to a higher affiliate or, if he's ready, to bring him straight to the MLB roster.
What we're reading 👀 🏈 Haason Reddick hyped up the Jets' chances as he was introduced following the trade with the Eagles.
🏈 Former NFL cornerback Vontae Davis is dead at the age of 35.
⚾ In case you're wondering about the unrest in the baseball players' union.
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