The Deeply Cool Men's Final Four
Three incredible stories, and also UConn
Before I talk men’s basketball, watch Tyler, The Creator’s new video for the song, “SORRY NOT SORRY.” I will have a Hoopla in the near future all about this man and his unbelievable run of songs, but I needed to share this in case anybody hasn’t seen it yet. It is outstanding.
Speaking of unbelievable runs, this Men’s NCAA Tournament has been full of them. Not a single top-three seed is left standing, and by the time the Elite Eight came around, only one No. 1 or 2 seeds (No. 2 Texas) remained.
This has been a March to emphasize the “Madness” portion of its title, and the result has been some excellent stories, games and teams worth rooting for. Also UConn is still here, I guess.
Let’s get the Huskies out of the way, as they are the clear team to root against if you are anything but a UConn fan. Dan Hurley’s squad, to its credit, completely lit up the West Region. UConn won its four games by a combined 90 points, finishing off the Final Four run with a 28-point demolition of Gonzaga.
The Huskies are primarily led by two players, Adama Sanogo (20.0 PPG, 9.8 RPG1) and Jordan Hawkins (17.3 PPG, 51.6 3PT%), but have six other players averaging between 6 and 8 PPG in the tourney thus far.
That combination of star power and strong depth has lead to UConn just blowing the hell out of teams on its path to the Final Four. The Huskies should be a clear favorite to win this thing, which makes it all the easier to root against them the whole way. UConn has done this type of run multiple times this century, and I would like to see an exciting new winner instead.
UConn will be first taking on Miami (Fla.) the only other team remaining from a major conference. The Hurricanes came into this tournament a five seed, and was a hot upset pick to lose to Drake in the first round by many, me included.
After surviving a close call with the Bulldogs, Miami battered both Indiana and Houston, two teams that seemed very capable of deep runs. It appeared that the Hurricanes’ impressive run would end at the hands of the No. 2 Longhorns in the Elite Eight. Miami trailed 67-55 about halfway through the second half, at which point Texas had a 94.7% chance of winning, according to ESPN.
The Hurricanes outscored the Longhorns 33-14 the rest of the way, led by 27 points by Jordan Miller and at least 11 points from all four other starters in the contest. That level of production has been the norm for Miami’s starters this tournament, as each are averaging double-digit points to this point.
The stars, though, are Nijel Pack (18.5 PPG, 44.8 3PT%) and Isaiah Wong (16.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG), the latter of which survived an abysmal five-point showing against Drake and has thrived in the spotlight since. These players, and this whole team, plays really fun basketball, and should make for a fun matchup against the red-hot Huskies.
The next two teams are the real heroes of this tournament’s story, and one of them will be playing for a national championship. I’m rooting for whoever makes it there.
Five-seed San Diego State comes out of the South Region, where barely anything has come easy. The Aztecs dismantled Furman 75-52 in the Round of 32, but have won their other three games by a combined 14 points.
San Diego State is a defensive stalwart of a team, a true annoyance to deal with, and that led to low-scoring victories over Charleston and Creighton, where the Aztecs scored 60.0 PPG. The other win, though, was the highlight of San Diego State’s run, a 71-64 win over No. 1 overall seed and tournament villains, Alabama.
The Crimson Tide shot 32.4 percent from the field and an abysmal 3 of 27 from three in the defeat, a testament to just how good San Diego State’s defense can be. Future top-five pick Brandon Miller had nine points on 3-of-19 shooting.
Scoring isn’t the top priority for these Aztecs, but they get it from a variety of options. Darrion Trammell (12.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG) leads the way in the tournament, and scored 21 in the win over the Tide. Five other players are averaging at least 7 PPG for San Diego State thus far.
The Aztecs will be battling the Florida Atlantic Owls, an unbelievably under-seeded team out of the Conference USA who is in their first ever Final Four. They were also in their first ever Elite Eight this tournament. And their first ever Sweet 16. And their first ever Round of 32.
This team is a true delight. A down-to-the-wire win over Memphis set the tone for the Owls run, as each victory has been within single digits. Next, Florida Atlantic ended Fairleigh Dickinson’s Cinderella story (let’s all laugh at Purdue one more time), before taking down Tennessee, then Kansas State, the last of which being one of my favorite games of the tournament.
Florida Atlantic has won 35 (!) games this year for a reason: this is a Damn Good team. Leading the charge is Johnell Davis (17.3 PPG, 7.8 RPG), a true star guard who is a blast to watch in action. Alijah Martin (12.5 PPG, 38.1 3PT%) has been a key scorer from deep, and 7-1 center Vladislav Golden came up huge against the Wildcats with 14 points and 13 boards.
FAU has the talent to deal with San Diego State’s relentless defense, but so did the last two teams the Aztecs have already taken down. Regardless of which of these two teams advance, we will have a mid-major in the finals, and that’s awesome.
By the way, a quick shoutout to Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell, who has gotten plenty of recognition, but deserves even more. This 5-8, 160-pound man had one of the best tournament runs I can remember, and it was so much fun to watch:
23.5 PPG
13.5 APG
4.0 SPG
44.6 FG%
41.9 3PT%
92.0 FT%
It was as insane to witness as it is to write out. I need an NBA team to take a chance on him.
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all individual stats are from NCAA Tournament games only unless specified.