After two wild weekends of NCAA tournament action, the 2023 Final Four field is set as the field has been reduced from 68 to just a quartet. The group boasts a traditional force in UConn, No. 4, a surprise entrant in Florida Atlantic, No. 9, and two other strong programs in San Diego State, San Diego State, and Miami that have never won national titles.
Only one is allowed to dismantle the nets in Houston on April 3rd.
The first game on Saturday will be only the second men’s Final Four match ever between non-major conference opponents as San Diego State and FAU battle for a spot in the title game. The Aztecs won the Mountain West regular season and conference tournament titles, while the Owls emerged as the regular season and tournament champions of Conference USA.
The second matchup of Saturday’s standings will pit arguably the nation’s hottest team, UConn, against Miami as the Huskies seek their fifth NCAA title in the last 24 tournaments. The Huskies won it all in 1999, 2004 and 2011 under Jim Calhoun, then in 2014 under Kevin Ollie. Now, in his fifth season, coach Dan Hurley wants to join these legendary teams. Standing in the way of the Huskies are the Hurricanes, who are making their first-ever Final Four under 73-year-old coach Jim Larranaga.
Here’s a first look at the Final Four.
(5) San Diego State vs. (9) FAU
Date: Saturday April 1 | Time: 6:09 p.m
Location: NRG Stadium in Houston
TV: CBS | stream: March Madness Live
About the Aztecs
San Diego State is playing in the Final Four for the first time in program history, and it’s Mountain West’s first Final Four team after enduring a 57-56 thriller against 6th-seeded Creighton in the Elite Eight. The Aztecs also defeated No. 1 overall Alabama in the Sweet 16 after starting the tournament with victories over No. 12 seeded Charleston and No. 13 seeded Furman. The Aztecs put their hat on defense and prefer a slow pace. Physical guard Matt Bradley is SDSU’s top scorer, but the Aztecs have received big contributions from guards Darrion Trammell and Lamont Butler in the tournament.
This isn’t an attractive offensive team, but they are fully committed to the imposing style favored by sixth-year coach Brian Dutcher. This is SDSU’s 10th appearance in the last 13 NCAA tournaments, so it’s been knocking on the door for a while. In fact, the team finished 2019-20 30-2 and was in line for a potential No. 1 in the NCAA tournament before that event was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Players from that team like Nathan Mensah, Aam Seiko, Aguek Arop and Keshad Johnson are still around trying to finish what the 2019-20 team started.
About the owls
FAU was ranked fifth in the Conference USA preseason poll but defied expectations by winning the league’s regular-season and tournament titles under fifth-year coach Dusty May. FAU finished over .500 in each of the first four seasons in May but never reached 20 wins. Now the Owls go into the Final Four with a 35-3 record – they will end the season with more wins than any other team nationally – after beating Memphis, No. 8, Fairleigh Dickinson, No. 16, No. 4 have defeated Tennessee and No. 3 seeded Kansas State in the first two weeks of the tournament. FAU is a great 3 point shooting team, both in volume and percentage.
The owls like to play fast and defend well. Perhaps the most important thing about this team, however, is its depth. When it comes to bank minutes, FAU is one of the nationwide leaders. Nobody averages more than 26 minutes per game, and nine players average at least 15 minutes per competition. This allows FAU to keep their offensive pace and defensive intensity high throughout the game.
(4) UConn vs. (5) Miami
Date: Saturday April 1 | Time: 8:49 p.m
Location: NRG Stadium in Houston
TV: CBS | stream: March Madness Live
About the huskies
UConn won its first four games in the Big Dance by 15 points or more, becoming only the third team this century to achieve the feat. Between UConn’s 88-65 win over Arkansas and Gonzaga’s 82-54 win on Saturday, UConn became the first team since Kentucky in 1996 to win their Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games by 20 points or more . So how did such a dominant team end up in 4th place?
The Huskies started 14-1 and rose to No. 2 on the AP Top 25 before a streak of five losses in six games knocked them out of contention for a Big East title. However, this team found their groove in the final month of the regular season and has only cranked it up ever since. The huskies can hit opponents in different ways. Jordan Hawkins, Alex Karaban, and Joey Calcaterra are excellent 3-pointers. They also get a lot of stares because of the attention Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clingan give to the post. Sanogo was one of the most dominant players in the tournament, and Clingan is a 7ft 2 shot blocker threat.
About the hurricanes
Miami is undersized, but doesn’t bother one bit. The Hurricanes have elite guards and a dynamic small-ball big man in Norchad Omier who’s 6-foot-7 but rebounds like he’s 7-foot-1. He’s among a group of four Miami players who are averaging 13 or more points per game. Isaiah Wong is top scorer and a familiar face in his fourth season as a key player for the ‘Canes.
Jordan Miller and Nijel Pack are also dangerous offensive weapons, making it difficult for opposing defenses to take them all out at once. Before defeating No. 2 seed Texas in the Elite Eight on Sunday, Miami beat No. 12 seed Drake, No. 4 seed Indiana and No. 1 seed Houston in their first three games of the tournament. Stopping this team is a tall order, even for the best defenses in the sport.