The wait is over. The Final Four is finally upon as on Saturday evening the West Region’s No. 4 UConn Huskies will take on the Midwest Region’s No. 5 Miami Hurricanes while the No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs out of the South Region will take on the No. 9 FAU Owls out of the East Region.
Below, we are going to take a look at ten players who will ultimately decide Saturday’s Final Four matchups. But before we delve into those players, let’s take a quick look at how each team got here.
No. 4 UConn Huskies (West Region):
The Huskies started their tournament off with an impressive 87-63 win over Richard Pitino and No. 13 Iona. In the Round of 32, they would knock off No. 5 Saint Mary’s (CA) 70-55 before taking down No. 8 Arkansas in blowout fashion 88-65. Prior to the blowout win for the Huskies, the Razorbacks had recently knocked off the region’s No. 1 seed and defending national champions, Kansas. After defeating Arkansas, the Huskies routed No. 3 Gonzaga in the Elite Eight 82-54. From the very start of this year’s tournament, the Huskies have been one of the most dominant teams.
No. 5 Miami Hurricanes (Midwest Region)
At one point in their tournament opener against No. 12 Drake, it seemed unlikely the Hurricanes would even make it out of the opening weekend, let alone get to the Final Four. How things can change in a short time. Since then, the Hurricanes would go on to beat No. 4 Indiana comfortably before defeating No. 1 Houston in the Sweet 16. In the Elite Eight, they would erase a double-digit deficit to come back and knock off No. 2 Texas 88-81.
The Hurricanes’ offensive has been nearly unstoppable all season, will UConn have enough to slow them down on Saturday?
No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs (South Region)
The Aztecs entered the tournament as a potential underdog that could make a deep run but very few expected a potential Final Four run out of Brian Dutcher’s program. The Aztecs started their tournament journey by knocking off a very tough No. 12 College of Charleston team 63-57. In the Round of 32, they would easily take care of No. 13 Furman, who was coming off an amazing last-second win over Virginia in the Round of 64. In the Sweet 16, No.1 Alabama found out just how good San Diego State is as the Aztecs smothered the Crimson Tide in a 71-64 win. Finally, in the Elite Eight, they would have another thriller with No. 6 Creighton 57-56.
No. 9 FAU Owls (East Region)
In a tournament that has been filled with Cinderella stories, FAU’s own Cinderella story is still going on. The Owls’ needed a last-second bucket to beat No. 8 Memphis in the opening round and then would beat No. 16 Farleigh Dickinson in the Round of 32. After having two games against quality but not elite opponents, FAU would have to rise to the challenge in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight. In the Sweet 16, they would beat No.4 Tennessee 62-55 before winning 79-76 against a very scrappy and tough No. 3 Kansas State team in the Elite Eight.
Now without, further adieu here are the ten players who will decide Saturday’s Final Four matchups.