NCAA Basketball | Illustrated by Kayli Thompson | The Wright State Guardian
This Saturday, the men’s basketball National Collegiate Athletic Association Final Four took place, with the teams facing off with hopes of making the championship game.
The teams coming into the weekend
The Florida Atlantic University Owls faced the San Diego State Aztecs and the Miami Hurricanes faced the Huskies of Connecticut.
A lot of questions were on fans' minds going into the games about whether UConn can continue its dominating success or if there would be another upset.
FAU versus SDSU
FAU and San Diego battled it out in a back and forth nail biter of a game. Going into halftime, the No. 9 FAU led No. 5 SDSU 40-33, but SDSU was no stranger to comebacks in this tournament and came back out possessed.
Once trailing by 14 points, San Diego cut FAU’s lead to 65-60 with seven minutes left. SDSU went back and forth until the ball went to its guard Lamont Butler and that is when FAU’s dreams of going to the championships broke.
With only two seconds left and down 71-70, Lamont hit a buzzer beater, sending the San Diego Aztecs to the NCAA championship game. The comeback from a 14-point deficit was the fifth-largest rally in Final Four history.
“The plan was just to get down hill, cut me off a little. I looked two seconds left and got to throw a shot. I was comfortable and I hit it,” Lamont said in a post-game interview.
The SDSU coach, Brian Dutcher, also commented on the final minutes of the game.
“I ran out of plans, so I decided to not take a time out,” Dutcher said.
Both teams had a nearly identical field goal percentage, but San Diego edged out on assists and offensive and total rebounds while committing fewer fouls.
UConn versus Miami FL
In the second semifinal game, UConn led by twenty at its highest, never going below an eight-point lead the entire game. Florida never led at any point in the game, only managing to tie.
UConn rolled through Miami 72-59. This continues UConn’s five game stint where the team has won by at least 13 points. Adama Sanogo scored 21 points on 11 shots to lead the team and eight other members of UConn recorded at least two field goals.
“The heavy favorites haven’t fared very well in this one,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said, commenting on the 2023 NCAA tournament. “So we’re just going to try to ignore that tag.”
The championship game
This Monday has so many possibilities. San Diego State could become the first No. 5 seed to win since Arizona in 1987 and UConn could win its fifth championship.
The finale of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament will go live at 9:20 p.m. on April 3.
