Welcome to the new normal.
This has been the wackiest NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament of all time if you look at the seeds left in the upcoming Final Four: a four seed that finished fourth in the Big East (University of Connecticut), a five seed that won the ACC regular season title but was given little respect (University of Miami FL.), a five seed that won a very competitive Mountain West regular season and tournament titles (San Diego State), and a nine seed that won the Conference USA regular season and conference titles (Florida Atlantic University).
Oh, by the way, FAU has the most wins in all of Division 1 men’s basketball in 2022-23.
So while it may be a shock to many people that these are the four teams left, maybe it says something about the way the tournament was seeded, or about the state of college basketball in 2023: basically, all these teams are the same, and any team in the tournament can compete, no matter the seed.
Just ask 16th-seeded Farleight Dickenson or 15th-seeded Princeton (New Jersey represent!)
But that is all in the past: right now, four teams are getting ready to play in Houston Saturday, with the winners moving on to Monday night.
In the first game, San Diego State will take on Florida Atlantic, while UConn and Miami will be the nightcap.
With the way Connecticut rolled through its region, the Huskies are a deserved favorite against Miami.
But do not write off the Hurricanes.
“Obviously, UConn is the favorite to win the national championship right now after the Huskies rampaged through the West bracket,” a spokesperson for BasketballInsiders.com said. “They won every game by at least 23 points, and have the best odds to win the title. But Miami was very impressive coming from behind against a very good Texas team in the second half of its Elite Eight Midwest Region victory, and also blew out a very good Houston team that was number one for a lot of the year.
“The craziest thing about the Hurricanes is, they were toast in the First Round against Drake, until the 12-seed collapsed late. Miami used that to power its run to the Final Four. Remember as well, the Hurricanes won the ACC regular season title, and will not be afraid of this UConn team. I think Miami will go in with a little chip on its shoulder, as a near six-point underdog as of Monday.”
The first game will be a matchup of two surprising 30-win teams, if only because of their history. Florida Atlantic University had never won a NCAA Tournament contest before this season, and had only won more than 20 games twice: the Owls will go into the Saturday night game at 35-3, and those 35 wins are the most in Division 1 this season.
San Diego State is 31-5, and had only won six games in its NCAA Tournament history prior to this season: all six of those wins have come since the start of the 2010-11 campaign in a five-years span from 2011-2015.
But one of those teams will be playing Monday night for a national championship.
“Look, this Florida Atlantic team was clearly underseeded after a great regular season,” the Basketball Insiders spokesperson said. “But it ended up working out for the Owls. Now, they get a San Diego State team that plays very good defense, but can sometimes struggle to score. To be honest, I don’t think FAU could have asked for a better matchup in a Final Four game.
“But the Aztecs can play some defense: they have been very good so far in this tournament, and are a deserved favorite–albeit a slight one–going into Saturday. There are many people who think UConn will walk through this Final Four like it did the regional, but that might not be the case. San Diego State is a very good team, and so is FAU.
“This is a toss-up contest, and the odds by the time the game tips off just after 6 p.m. Eastern on Saturday might show that as well. We have this as a tight contest, and think the Owls have a legitimate shot to win the title.”
