Breaking Down the Final Four
The Story: The Final Four isn’t what we expected, but as the UConn men head to Houston, there is enough talent and intrigue to keep us on the edge of our seats.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: UConn is the name brand in the Final Four and it isn’t even close. The Huskies have six Final Four appearances and four NCAA titles to their name and have done it all in the last 24 years. Still, UConn, a No. 4 seed, is the top remaining team, and it’s the first time since seeding began in 1979 that at least one top-three seed has not made the Final Four.
• Only one No. 4 seed has won the national title. That was Arizona in 1997. UConn would be the second, of course.
• Interestingly, no No. 5 seed has ever won the national title, so Miami or San Diego State would be the first.
• The last team competing is No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic, which is in Conference USA but is moving to the AAC next season. The lowest seed to ever win a title was No. 8 seed Villanova in 1985. So, an FAU championship would be a once-in-a-generation run.
MIAMI THE ACC’S BEST: The Hurricanes were the ACC’s regular-season co-champs, along with Virginia, at 15-5 in conference play. They have made deep runs in the past two NCAA tournaments and have one of the best offenses in the country.
• Jordan Miller (15.2 points per game) is the Hurricanes’ top player and tallest rotation player at 6-foot-7, but everyone in the starting lineup can be an explosive scorer. Guard Isaiah Wong (16.2 points per game) is coming of age.
• Miami (29-7) has been on fire since surviving Drake, a popular No. 12 seed upset pick. It scored 85 points against Indiana, 88 points against Houston and 89 points against Texas. It has the No. 5-ranked offense and is a prolific 3-point shooting team as it hits 37.8 percent from long range.
• The weakness? The Hurricanes aren’t deep. At all. They only go to the bench for cameos. They also have, by far, the worst defense of the bunch, with a rating of No. 104. No depth and being suspect defensively is the book on the Hurricanes.
SDSU FINALLY GETS HERE: The Aztecs (31-6) won the Mountain West and are one of the more rugged teams as they play physically and hard-nosed defensively. Coach Brian Dutcher is six years into his tenure as head coach after taking over for Steve Fisher.
• The Aztecs hadn’t advanced out of the first round in that span, but after holding off Charleston in the opener, they caught a break with No. 13 seed Furman before impressive wins over tournament No. 1 Alabama and then No. 6 seed Creighton.
• The Aztecs have the No. 4-ranked defense and have won eight straight games. They like to keep the score in the 50s and are one of the top teams in the nation in defending the 3-point shot. They’ve been out of this world in the NCAA Tournament as their opponents have shot just 17 percent (16-for-94) from 3-point range.
• Guard Matt Bradley is the Aztecs’ leading scorer at 12.5 points per game and is the only player averaging in double figures. Darrion Trammell checks in at 9.9 points per game and Lamont Butler is at 8.7 points per game as San Diego State goes 10 players deep, with eight averaging more than 20 minutes a game but none over 30.
• Where do you attack San Diego State? Score points. The Aztecs aren’t a particularly efficient or explosive team and like to grind games to a halt.
DON’T CALL FAU CINDERELLA: Are you really a Cinderella if you lead the nation in wins and won your conference regular-season and tournament titles? Florida Atlantic has been a top-30 team for most of the season, polls be damned, and leads the nation with a 35-3 record.
• The No. 9 seed Owls are trying to become the lowest seed to ever advance to the NCAA title game. FAU is also in its final year of C-USA action as it is among the six teams heading to the AAC to replace Houston, Cincinnati and UCF, which are leaving for the Big 12.
• We love everything about how the Owls play. They go nine players deep, all play more than 10 minutes, and they are interchangeable pieces. They are shooting nearly 38 percent from 3-point range as a team. They survived a challenge from No. 8 seed Memphis in Round 1 and after knocking off No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, they beat No. 4 seed Tennessee and No. 3 seed Kansas State to shock the world.
• Johnell Davis is the Owls’ marquee player. He’s shooting 49 percent from 2-point range, 85 percent from the free throw line and 37 percent from 3-point range, checking in at 13.9 points per game. The Owls play fast and like to go with four guards in the lineup attacking the rim. That includes former UConn guard Jalen Gaffney, who has found a niche at FAU off the bench and is averaging 4.4 points per game in about 22 minutes.
• The Owls are susceptible on the boards and only have one player of significant size on the team in 7-footer Vladislav Golden, a Texas Tech transfer from Russia who averages 10.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. FAU is a high-volume 3-point shooting team that has taken 893 3-pointers this season. If it has an off shooting night from deep, it’ll be difficult for them to bounce back.
HUSKIES LEAVE FOR HOUSTON: The Huskies finally made their way to Houston yesterday as they left the campus at midday with a sendoff. The coolest part was the charter flight on the way down: none other than the New England Patriots’ jet, which they took out of TF Green Airport in Providence.
BIG EAST BIG HIT: The Huskies left the AAC, and any semblance of safety for football, nearly five years ago this summer. The Big East has been a godsend to the basketball program, which is now back among the nation’s elite.
BOTTOM LINE: The Final Four is going to happen. Perhaps the most annoying storylines we have read this week are that, outside of UConn, there’s a lack of a marquee name. Some pundits are even questioning the Huskies’ brand and pointing out record-low ratings are going to result. We don’t really care about the ratings, and nor should you, and the fact that the Mountain West, Conference USA and ACC champions are in the Final Four leads us to think the teams actually belong here.
— John Silver
Top photo: Dan Hurley directs his players in the Huskies’ Big East tournament game against Providence at Madison Square Garden. (Ian Bethune for The UConn Daily)
