Evaluating UConn, Miami, San Diego State, and FAU for the 2023 Final Four as March Madness heads to Houston

The Final Four matchups are set for Saturday’s semifinals. Evaluating UConn, Miami, San Diego State, and FAU for the 2023 Final Four as March Madness heads to Houston.

After two wild weekends of NCAA Tournament action, the 2023 Final Four field is set as the field of 68 has been reduced to a mere quartet. The group features a traditional power in No. 4 seed UConn, a surprise participant in No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic and two other strong programs in No. 5 seed San Diego State and No. 5 seed Miami that have never won national titles.

Only one gets to cut down the nets in Houston on April 3.

Saturday’s first game will be just the second Men’s Final Four matchup ever between non-major conference opponents as San Diego State and FAU square off 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 slate will pit arguably the nation’s hottest team, UConn against Miami as the Huskies seek their fifth title of the past 24 NCAA Tournaments. The Huskies won it all in 1999, 2004 and 2011 under Jim Calhoun, then in 2014 under Kevin Ollie. Now, coach Dan Hurley is looking to join those storied teams in his fifth season on the job. Standing in the Huskies’ way are the Hurricanes, which are making their first-ever Final Four appearance under 73-year-old coach Jim Larranaga.

Here is the early look at what’s ahead for 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 | Streaming: 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 the Mountain West’s first Final Four team after surviving a 57-56 thriller against No. 6 seed Creighton in the Elite Eight. The Aztecs also took out No. 1 overall seed Alabama in the Sweet 16 after beginning the tournament with wins over No. 12 seed Charleston and No. 13 seed Furman. The Aztecs hang their hat on defense and prefer a slow pace. Physical guard Matt Bradley is SDSU’s leading scorer, but the Aztecs have received huge contributions from guards Darrion Trammell and Lamont Butler in the tournament.

This isn’t an attractive offensive team, but it is fully bought into the imposing style that sixth-year coach Brian Dutcher prefers. This is SDSU’s 10th appearance in the past 13 NCAA Tournaments, so it has been knocking on the door for a while. In fact, the 2019-20 team finished 30-2 and was in line for a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament before that event was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Players from that team such as Nathan Mensah, Aam Seiko, Aguek Arop and Keshad Johnson are still around and looking to finish what the 2019-20 team started.

About the Owls
FAU was picked to finish 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 above .500 in each of May’s first four seasons but never reached 20 wins. Now, the Owls are headed to the Final Four with 35-3 record — they will end the season with more wins than any other team nationally — after beating No. 8 seed Memphis, No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, No. 4 seed Tennessee and No. 3 seed Kansas State over the tournament’s first two weeks. FAU is a great 3-point shooting team, both in volume and percentage.

The Owls like to play fast, and they also defend well. What’s arguably most important about this team, though, is its depth. FAU is among the national leaders in bench minutes. No one averages more than 26 minutes per game, and nine players average at least 15 minutes per contest. That allows FAU to keep its offensive tempo 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 | Streaming: March Madness Live

About the Huskies
UConn won its first four games in the Big Dance by 15 points or more, becoming just the third team this century to accomplish that feat. Between UConn’s 88-65 win over Arkansas and Saturday’s 82-54 beatdown of Gonzaga, UConn is the first team since Kentucky in 1996 to win its Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games by 20 or more points. So, how did such a dominant team end up as a No. 4 seed?

The Huskies started 14-1 and rose to No. 2 in the AP Top 25 before a stretch of five losses in six games dropped them out of contention for a Big East title. However, this team found its groove over the final month of the regular season and has only turned it up since. The Huskies can beat opponents in a variety of ways. Jordan Hawkins, Alex Karaban and Joey Calcaterra are excellent 3-point shooters. They get plenty of open looks, too, because of the attention that Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clingan command in the post. Sanogo has been one of the most dominant players in the tournament, and Clingan is a 7-foot-2 shot-blocking menace.

About the Hurricanes
Miami is undersized but doesn’t mind a bit. The Hurricanes have elite guards and a dynamic small-ball big man in Norchad Omier, who is 6-foot-7 but rebounds as though he’s 7-foot-1. He’s among a group of four Miami players averaging 13 or more points per game. Isaiah Wong is the leading 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 who make it difficult for opposing defenses to shut everyone down at once. Before edging No. 2 seed Texas in the Elite Eight on Sunday, Miami knocked out No. 12 seed Drake, No. 4 seed Indiana and No. 1 seed Houston in their first three games of the tournament. Slowing this team down is a tall order, even for the sport’s best defenses.

>> Evaluating UConn, Miami, San Diego State, and FAU for the 2023 Final Four as March Madness heads to Houston….

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