Final Four Preview: The Craziest Final Four in History
In all but 4 NCAA tournaments since 1985’s tournament expansion, the champion has been a 1, 2, or 3 seed. This year is already set to be the 5th, as none of the top 12 teams reached the Final Four in what is among the most shocking 2nd weekends in College Basketball history! We started with 68 teams, and now, we are down to 4! Without further ado, here are the pathways each team left took to get to this point. The storylines, key matchup points, and everything else needed to fully enjoy the Final Four is within this article, so enjoy!
South Region: 5 seed San Diego State University (SDSU)
This was just the 6th year without a 5-12 upset since the NCAA tournament expanded in 1985, which was surprising considering this team’s 1st round game — as well as another team that we will get to later — both were flashy upset picks in the days leading up to tipoff. In fact, San Diego State got a push from the College of Charleston in the 1st half, as the Cougars led for 14 minutes of the 1st half. However, the Aztecs had a vice grip on the game in the 2nd half, and cruised past the Cougars. Perhaps they got a bit of a lucky break that 13 seed Furman upset 4 seed Virginia, but the Aztecs found no trouble with the Paladins. After holding them scoreless for over 7 minutes, the game was never in doubt. At this point, analysts predicted that this is where San Diego State’s season would come to a close, as they had to go up against top overall seed Alabama. It seemed as though Head Coach Brian Dutcher officially had a successful season. Dutcher made the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in his tenure with the Aztecs, and dispelled the narrative about Mountain West teams in the postseason.
However, the train was not stopping for the Aztecs. San Diego State turned a 5 point halftime lead into a win despite Alabama not going down easy. They followed up this massive upset with a 1 point stunner against Creighton that was decided by a last second foul from Creighton’s Ryan Nembhard. As a result, SDSU made the Final Four for the 1st time in school history on Sunday. This team is headlined by an ensemble cast of top notch defenders. In fact, SDSU’s 4th ranked defense on KenPom is easily the best of the remaining teams, and although their offense is the least efficient of the teams left, their physicality may present issues for some opponents. Their highlight scorer is Darrion Trammell, and their highlight defender is the Ghanaian Nathan Mensah. These 2 seniors have the leadership experience that could be a great boon to a roster. Expect the Aztecs to pose major issues to the team they have to play in the Final Four, FAU, and any future team they have to play this year.
East Region: 9 seed FAU
As will become a theme across all 4 of the Final Four teams, FAU got a push in the 1st round of the tournament. However, unlike the other 3 teams, FAU’s initial game literally came down to the wire. In fact, the Memphis-FAU 8-9 game was not without controversy, as the referees decided not to award a timeout to a Memphis team that clearly believed it was theirs. Nonetheless, Memphis’ defense collapsed and let up a layup to Nicholas Boyd in the final 2 seconds of the game, sealing their fate. From there, FAU got a lucky break in not having to go up against 1 seed Purdue, but instead 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson. After escaping from the Knights, FAU got to work by defeated 4 seed Tennessee and 3 seed Kansas State in close affairs. As a result, Head Coach Dusty May’s Owls — who prior to this year’s tournament, had not been to a tournament in over 20 years and had never won a tournament game — are now in the Final Four just 5 years after May took the job.
FAU is a 35 win team that ranks in the top 30 in the country in both offense and defense. While their road to get to the Final Four was paved with easier games — such as Fairleigh Dickinson and an injured Tennessee roster — that should not mean the Owls get disrespected. Their “big 3” of players include guards Alijah Moore and Nicholas Boyd, as well as center Vladislav Goldin. However, in FAU’s Elite Eight win against Kansas State, it was Bryan Greenlee’s sharpshooting that propelled the Owls over the Wildcats. FAU is a team that absolutely deserves respect heading into the Final Four, and they may become the 1st ever 9 seed to win the NCAA tournament!
Midwest Region: 5 seed Miami
GO MIAMI! TO THE FINAL FOUR!! It is no surprise that this publication heavily favors the U, but for the purposes of this article, the bias will be kept to a minimum. Miami’s road to the Final Four was, like the previous teams, not without adversity. Miami was down to Drake 55-50 at the final media timeout, and needed to score 13 of the final 14 points to have a chance. From there, it was a complete blowout of Indiana in which 6’7” Norchad Omier crushed 6’9” Trayce Jackson-Davis on the glass. In the Sweet Sixteen, Miami is the only team left that had to play their projected seed opponents, and they demonstrated both the ability to win convincingly and surge from behind. Against Houston — the team KenPom had at #1, and the favorite to win from most analysts — Miami won by 14 points off an impressive 2nd half. Conversely, their win against Texas required overcoming a 13 point 2nd half deficit. Nonetheless, they climbed both mountains and now stand in view of the summit at the Final Four.
Head Coach Jim Larrañaga is the only coach with Final Four experience, as he brought George Mason to the Final Four in 2006. This team has an excellent starting 5. Jordan Miller had among the best postseason games in tournament history, as he went 7/7 from the field and 13/13 from the line for a 27 point perfect game. Isaiah Wong is the ACC Player of the Year, the aforementioned Omier is electric, Wooga Poplar is incredibly reliable at the little things, and Nijel Pack is a big factor behind Miami’s dominant win over Houston. While this is the least deep team left in the field — and the worst defensively — Miami’s stardom and coaching acumen is more than enough to make them a consideration for the championship!
West Region: 4 seed UConn
The other 3 teams had to overcome adversity in the 1st round, and while UConn did as well, they began steamrolling opponents after that. Iona had a 2 point lead heading into halftime against the Huskies, but Head Coach Dan Hurley fired his team up en route to outscoring the Gaels by 26 in the 2nd half (in a game Bill Murray attended). From there, UConn stomped through Saint Mary’s, Arkansas, and Gonzaga. Their total point differential against their 4 opponents so far is 67, which is the largest for any Final Four team in history. The teams they beat were no joke either. Saint Mary’s was 11th in KenPom heading into their match against UConn, Arkansas had just upended 1 seed Kansas before getting the doors blown off of them by UConn, and Gonzaga had just beaten the nation’s top defense in UCLA before only scoring 54 against UConn. Simply put, UConn is the heavy favorite heading into Saturday.
This team has electric playmakers and a passionate coach! Dan Hurley had not experienced postseason success up until now, but was a dominant presence in the regular season the past few years. This year, he has the added bonus of NBA lottery pick Jordan Hawkins, and the strongest big man duo in college basketball in superstar Adama Sanogo and 6th man Donovan Clingan. Because these 2 players are rarely on the court simultaneously, the different looks Hurley brings with each player is confounding for a team. UConn is a storied basketball program with a tradition of excellence from outside of the top seed, and they are a very likely contender to be the champions for the 3rd time in 12 years!
These types of things are unpredictable, but From Downtown expects Miami to be the 1st ever 5 seed to win the championship over fellow 5 seed San Diego State. Miami has proved their resilience and dominance, and UConn may not be ready for a team that can hang in a game for as long as Miami can. Omier may also prove to be a nuisance for their big men despite his comparatively small size. This is a basketball diehard fan’s Final Four through and through, but we here at From Downtown hope that, no matter what type of fan you are, this is an enjoyable set of games! Enjoy the last 3 games of the season, this is From Downtown, signing off for now!
