The Blue Jays of FAU and the Coulomb Islands: It’s a Good Time to Win, but It Didn’t Wanna Happen
The final four teams are vying to win the national title in men’s college basketball.
And after a March Madness which has thrown up surprises around every corner, to have no No. 1, 2 or 3 seeds in the penultimate round seems only fitting – it is the first time since seeding was introduced 44 years ago that this has happened.
Saturday’s Final Four begins with the ‘Cinderella’ team of the tournament, No. 9 Florida Atlantic University (FAU), facing No. 5 San Diego State before No. 5 Miami play No. 4 University of Connecticut.
A go-ahead basket with 2.5 seconds to play against Memphis gave Tennessee the lead and it held up in the tournament’s second round.
The BlueJays were called for a foul on the Aztecs in the last minute of the game. Trammell jumped up for the shot attempt, and the replays showed his left hand on the right hip of Nembhard.
San Diego State earned a fifth seed in the East Region this year after winning 27 games and taking part in the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row.
The team has thrived off its excellent defense, holding Creighton to 2-for-17 shooting from behind the three-point arc, including 0-for-10 the second half, just two days after holding Alabama to 3-for-27.
“We’re making the next step and it’s something we’ve always talked about and I’m sure there were people that doubted we could do it, but we never doubted for a minute,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said.
The Miami Hurricanes in the Final Four: A 21-Year-Old Journey Through March Madness with an Empirical Game Plane
Led by 73-year-old Jim Larrañaga in his 12th year as head coach, the Hurricanes entered the tournament in inauspicious form, going 3-4 in January and suffering a damaging home loss to Florida State.
In its first three games of the tournament, Miami has beaten opponents by an average of 37 points.
But a key 37-17 run the last 13 minutes against the Longhorns helped steer the Hurricanes to a famous 88-81 victory and sealed their place in the final four.
For Larrañaga, who remembers many of the seismic shocks over the years, positivity at the beginning of the year has been vital in their run through the tournament.
Larraaga said that when his players achieve a goal they set out before the season, he loves it.
We have to start working toward what we want to accomplish every single day after the first day of practice. And that’s what these guys have done.”
UConn, despite being a fourth seed, was fancied to continue a run of disappointing results in March Madness, having lost in the first round in the two years prior.
The teams were tied 2-2 in the first period Saturday, but the Huskies went up 9-0 before the game was over. The Miami Hurricanes tried to make a comeback but the shots were not going in their favor. Up 10 points, UConn forward Alex Karaban knocked down a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Huskies a 37-24 lead heading into the half.
The first Final Four team from the Mountain West will play for the national title on Monday night, against the team that beat Miami in the semifinals.
The Hurricanes fell behind Connecticut by 20 points in the second half, as the Cats continued to pour it on. Miami cut the lead down to 10 points again before the Huskies regained momentum.
Adama Sanogo, the center who has been eating oranges and coconut water before the basketball game, was his dominant self. He finished with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebounds. Jordan had 13 points but was questionable to play with a non-covid illness.
Why did the Aztecs win the first national title in 2021? That’s the only shot that San Diego State had to concede in the Final Four
“I’m just happy I was able to attract the right type of people to put me in this position,” Hurley told the CBS broadcast. I am very thankful to the University of Connecticut, the coaching staff, and the players. They gave a chance to a guy, that was a high school coach a long time ago. A blessing and incredible gratitude is what I feel. … We’ve been striving for five for a while.”
The program has won five national titles, and is aiming for a fifth when they play San Diego State in Houston on Monday.
Butler’s winning buzzer-beater was the first for the Final Four since Jalen Suggs for Gonzaga against UCLA in 2021 and No. 5 overall. But it’s the only one when the winning team was trailing at the time of the shot.
“I didn’t really know how big it was,” Butler said after his calm reaction to one of the greatest shots in NCAA Tournament history. “We’re going to the national championship. It’s not things most people do.
San Diego State found its defensive confidence in the middle of the second half, and when the Owls were able to make a run at them, they were able to make it a one-point game.
When FAU’s Johnell Davis missed a contested layup, San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher opted to not call timeout, joking that he didn’t have any plays left.
The clock ticking down, Butler dribbled to the baseline, found that cut off and circled back. He stepped back to create a little room and hit a jumper that sent the Aztecs racing out onto the floor and had San Diego Padres fans going wild at Petco Park.
“We’ve always been knocked down,” said San Diego State’s Matt Bradley, who had 21 points after struggling in the previous three games. “We always try to get back up and fight again.”
Since Brian Dutcher took over for Steve Fisher, San Diego State had been building towards this. Dutcher followed the mold Fisher had created, adding an extra dose of nasty to the defense.
The Aztecs held their first four opponents to an average of 57 points per game and only 18% shooting from the 3- point line after the NCAA Tournament started.
The Owls hit 5 of 11 from the 3-point range in the first half and led 40-33 against a defense that held its previous two NCAA Tournament opponents to less than perfect shooting on the 3-point line.
Contesting nearly every shot and pass while pulling down a string of offensive rebounds, including six in 59 seconds, San Diego State rallied to tie it at 65-all.
“They went on a run, getting extra possessions,” said FAU’s Nick Boyd, who hit three early 3s and finished with 12 points. That was the turning point in the game.
FAU kept San Diego State at bay most of the second half thanks to Alijah Martin, who seemed to have an answer for every Aztecs move by scoring 19 of his 26 points in the second half.