Final Four Preview

Florida Atlantic vs San Diego State

Via DraftKings Nation

To put it simply, this was not a matchup I was expecting to preview in the final four when the brackets came out. Like many, I was expecting at least one of the top seeds to be here, but there are zero top-three seeds in the final four this year. These two teams were picked by many to be done on the first weekend, but they have earned their way to Houston.

FAU comes in after beating a red-hot Markquis Nowell and Kansas State team. They are a 30+ win ball club this year and were maybe under-seeded a little at nine. They were a missed layup away from losing to Memphis in round one, they then handled business late against FDU, and then put on a clinic in the second half against Tennessee, before taking down the aforementioned Kansas State Wildcats in the elite eight. Led by sophomore Johnell Davis, the Owls have simply found ways to win. They haven’t been putting up staggering numbers of points, and haven’t been holding opponents to record low points, they have just been winning. They are a very confident team that believes they should be here believes they can win it all. They have their hands full Saturday as they play a buzzsaw of a defense in San Diego State.

Defense has been the identity of San Diego State and is the reason they are where they are. After escaping an opening round scare against Charleston, the Aztecs blew by Furman before upsetting the number one overall seed Alabama, and most recently squeaked out a one-point win against Creighton. Their win against the Blue Jays is sadly a controversial one, as a last second foul was the deciding factor in the final second. The call essentially won SDSU the game, but shouldn’t take away from how deserving they are to be in the Final Four. They have allowed 60+ points just once in the tournament, and that was in their 71-64 win against Alabama. Their perimeter defense has been phenomenal, as they haven’t allowed a team to shoot better than 23% this tournament. Their offenses hasn’t been the prettiest thus far, but its gotten the job done. They have a pretty balanced attack as a different player has led them in scoring in every game during the tournament.

This game should come down to the wire as they are pretty evenly matched teams. The key for FAU is going to be taking care of the ball. SDSU is going to continue to put pressure on the opposing offense. The key for SDSU is to hit open shots. While they have been forcing opponents into some pretty low shooting percentages, they themselves haven’t shot the best either. It’s going to be a fun game as there should be a good amount of lead changes.

UConn vs Miami

Via Canes Warning

While maybe not the matchup many were expecting, it’s one that was more seeable than the other. UConn has been seen as a contender for a majority of the season, and it is no surprise to see them back in the final four. Miami was maybe under-seeded in this tournament. They won the ACC regular season title before losing in the tournament.

UConn has been a top dog all year long to me, and to many others. They are anchored by big man Adama Sanogo who is averaging over 17 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game. Their spark plug however, is Jordan Hawkins. He averaged over 16 points per game in the regular season, but has scored 20 and 24 points the past two weeks respectively. The Huskies have blitzed through the tournament, winning each game by double digits thus far. Most recently, an 82-54 dragging of Gonzaga. They look to be the best team remaining out of the four, but as we’ve seen all tournament, anyone can be beat any game, and they have handful in Miami Saturday night.

Miami is a fun team to watch play. They are a guard heavy team, which time and time again has proven to be what you need in March. Nigel Pack and Isaiah Wong might be the best one-two punch in the final four, as either of them are capable of scoring from anywhere on the court. The Hurricanes have been battle tested the whole tournament. They used a late run to scrape past drake in round one, then dominated a good Hoosiers team for the majority of round two before upsetting Houston in the sweet 16, and most recently came back from double digits in the second half against the Longhorns. The Hurricanes have a roster capable of winning it all, and are going to need their guards to continue to carry them in Houston. They probably, can’t afford to fall behind big against this UConn team, but they have proven they are resilient group this whole tournament.

This game should be a ton of fun to watch (unless you’re a fan of defense) with both teams capable of putting up a boat load of points. Dan Hurley and Jim Larranaga are two of the best coaches in the country and should have their teams ready to play. The winner of this will more than likely be the favorite in the championship game. I expect this to come down to the wire as both teams have big time shot makers.