Is this March Madness the greatest one in recent memory?
This year’s NCAA tournament has been one for the ages, as the bracket has suffered upsets at every level. David and Goliath showed their true
This year’s NCAA tournament has been one for the ages, as the bracket has suffered upsets at every level. David and Goliath showed their true colors when the shortest basketball team in America, Fairleigh Dickinson, took down No. 1 seeded Purdue and Zach Edey in the opening round of the tourney. The Boilermakers just so happened to be the No. 1 seeded team in adjusted height, according to KenPom. That’s quite a Cinderella team, if you ask me.
FDU’s magical run sadly ended in the round of 32 when they were silenced by the Owls of FAU, but not before they took the basketball world by storm. Little did we know that the chaos would continue all the way to the Final Four in Houston. It’s one thing for a couple of double-digit seeds to do some damage in the first weekend, but it’s an entirely different narrative to see all the blue-bloods go down one by one like dominoes. Princeton went to the Sweet 16 as a 15 seed, and Virginia lost again (what a shocker) to the Furman Paladins, but there were bigger fish to fry down the road.
This year was the first year that all the No. 1 seeds failed to make it to the Elite Eight since seeding began in 1979. Musselman’s Razorbacks blanked the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks, who were the defending champs, in the round of 32. Miami handled the Houston Cougars in their Sweet 16 matchup, and San Diego State pulled away late against Alabama to upset the tournament’s top team. Usually, the blue-bloods find a way to avoid the madness of the first weekend and dominate the rest of the field, but the underdogs had something to say about that. To put this into perspective, last year’s Final Four consisted of North Carolina, Kansas, Duke and Villanova (3 clear blue-bloods). Not only did none of the regulars make it to the finale, but three teams are making their first Final Four appearance. This anomaly hasn’t happened since 1970. San Diego State, Florida Atlantic and Miami are all collectively tasting Final Four glory for the very first time.
Florida Atlantic will match up against SDSU in a battle of mid-majors for a trip to the National Championship. You know the cliché, “Defense wins championships.” Well, that’s exactly the backbone of Aztec basketball. SDSU focuses on disrupting opponents’ offensive flow with physicality and turnovers. Leading into the NCAA tournament, the FAU Owls felt disrespected receiving a nine-seed, despite having compiled a 31-3 record in the regular season. Four wins later, they’re proving all the doubters wrong for their “lack of quality wins.” Mid-major teams tend to get overlooked since they aren’t in a power-six conference, but that doesn’t mean they can’t win when it matters most. FAU might be the most composed team in college basketball right now, as they have trailed their opponents in the second half in all four tournament wins. FAU’s collectedness will be put to the test against the smothering Aztec defense.
In the other semifinal, the UConn Huskies will take on a very versatile Miami Hurricanes team. Miami loves to spread the wealth; they have four players averaging over 13 points per game. On any given night, any one of their guards can step up and put the team on their back. That’s exactly what Jordan Miller did against Texas in the Elite Eight, as he shot a perfect 7/7 from the field and 13/13 free throws to explode for 27 points. Last but certainly not least, UConn is favored to win its fifth title in school history since 1999.
The Huskies have been shooting their opponents out of the gym with a field goal percentage of 50.4% over their four tournament games. They’ve won by 15+ points in every game and have never looked back. If this team’s hot, there’s not much that anyone can do to stop them. This Saturday is guaranteed to put on a show between these four battle-tested squads. I’m personally cheering for an all-Florida final, with FAU and Miami squaring off for the chance to cut down the nets for the first time. The schools are only separated by 51 miles, so this would be quite an electric atmosphere in Houston. Nevertheless, the final weekend of March Madness will not disappoint.
Lastly, props to my friend Matt Anderson for driving all the way down to Louisville to cheer on his Creighton Bluejays in the Elite Eight. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to get a bid to the Final Four, as SDSU stole the show with a one-point victory. Maybe they’ll do it next year, Matt?
