Tag: 2023 Men’s NCAA Tournament

HUSKIES ON TOP: Twitter reacts to UConn’s fifth national championship win

UConn cemented themselves as a blue blood on Monday night with their fifth national championship since 1999 and Twitter had all the reactions.

The men’s basketball national championship is returning to the basketball capital of the world.

On Monday night, the UConn Huskies cemented themselves as a no doubt about it, blue blood program. With a 76-59 win over the San Diego Aztecs, the Huskies won their fifth national championship, all five coming since 1999.

Monday night’s game was also a continuation of what the Huskies showed throughout the entirety of the NCAA Tournament. Complete domination. Out of the game’s 40 minutes, UConn led for over 34 minutes – and San Diego State’s last lead in the game came with just over 16 minutes remaining in the first half.

The NCAA Tournament’s most outstanding player Adama Sanogo recorded his fourth double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Tristen Newton who is just under a year removed from announcing his transfer to UConn had a double-double of his own with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

For head coach Danny Hurley, it’s his first national championship. He joins his older brother, Bobby Hurley now as NCAA Champions. While Bobby has not won an NCAA Championship as a head coach, he won two titles with the Duke Blue Devils in 1991 and 1992. Their father, Bob Hurley was a four-time national champion high school coach as well.

But as stated above, for UConn, the championship also means the program has fully cemented themselves as a college basketball blue blood. Despite numerous down years in the process, the Huskies since 1999 have won five national titles, tying them for fourth most all time alongside Duke and Indiana.

The only schools that have more are UCLA, Kentucky, and North Carolina and are now ahead the likes of Kansas, who won their fourth in 2022 as well as Villanova, Louisville, and Michigan State who have two each.

With Danny Hurley at the head of the program – it doesn’t appear that the Huskies will be going anywhere anytime soon either. They’ll return multiple key pieces in all likelihood next season and will have a legitimate chance at repeating as national champions.

With that being said, here’s how Twitter reacted to the Huskies’ fifth national title on Monday night.

The 10 players who will decide this year’s Final Four

These ten players will decide Saturday’s Final Four matchups.

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.

College Wire Predictions: Who will emerge from the Final Four on Saturday?

Our network editors make their picks for the Final Four.

We could be on the verge of history in the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament this coming Monday. Four teams remain in the hunt to be crowned a national champion, three of which have never taken home the trophy. UConn, on the flip side, has won four national championships.

No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs vs No. 9 Florida Atlantic Owls

Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

In the early matchup on Saturday, San Diego State and Florida Atlantic will achieve school history by making it to the title game. This is FAU’s second NCAA tournament in school history, they had their first win in March Madness weeks ago when they knocked off Memphis. The Aztecs finally put the Mountain West on the board after going winless in the tournament since Nev.

Who will emerge victorious?

Editor Site Pick
Patrick Conn College Sports Wire San Diego State
Cami Griffin Longhorns Wire San Diego State
Phil Harrison Buckeyes Wire San Diego State
Taylor Jones Auburn Wire Florida Atlantic
AJ Spurr Roll Tide Wire San Diego State
Kevin McGuire Nittany Lions Wire San Diego State
E. Wayne Razorbacks Wire San Diego State
Tyler Nettuno LSU Wire San Diego State

No. 4 Connecticut Huskies vs No. 5 Miami Hurricanes

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

UConn hasn’t played in the Final Four since 2014, the last time they won a national title. Right now, nobody is as hot as the Huskies. They have won every game by double digits. In the Elite Eight, they knocked off a battle-tested Gonzaga team 82-54. Miami has had to make comebacks in the last several games, including falling behind to the Longhorns by 13 in the second half.

Who will win this fight between Power Six programs?

Editor Pick
Patrick UConn
Cami UConn
Phil Miami
Taylor UConn
AJ Miami
Kevin UConn
E. Wayne UConn
Tyler UConn

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March Madness: College Wire’s Final Four predictions

Our Final Four predictions.

Following Sunday’s action in the 2023 NCAA men’s tournament, the Final Four will be the only teams left standing in pursuit of the championship. For the first time since seeding began, there will be no No. 1 seeded teams taking the court in the Elite Eight. The No. 1 Houston Cougars fell to No. 5 Miami Hurricanes and the Alabama Crimson Tide were upset by No. 5 San Diego State Aztecs.

The College Wire staff predicted the Elite Eight games over Saturday and Sunday to come up with their Final Four matchups. Who will rise from each Regional final over the next two days?

Everyone should be glad Brandon Miller’s nightmarish NCAA tournament run is finally over, including him

This entire situation is just a nightmare

Brandon Miller and No. 1 overall seed Alabama ended their NCAA tournament run with a whimper.

San Diego State dominated the Crimson Tide in what can only be described as a defensive master class. Miller — Alabama’s best player — was absolutely locked down by SDSU.

RELATED: The Elite Eight will not feature a No. 1 seed for the first time in men’s NCAA tournament history

That wasn’t outside of the ordinary for him for this NCAA tournament — he hadn’t shot the ball well throughout March. You wouldn’t know it, though, because the overall story about Miller and Alabama has nothing to do with basketball.

Miller’s involvement in a fatal January shooting in Alabama that killed 23-year-old Jamea Harris has been hanging over all of this. Rightfully so.

MORE: Brandon Miller’s alleged role in horrific shooting leaves us with more questions than answers

Miller’s involvement in the shooting is still not very clear. We know that he was at the location. We also know that the car he drove to the location was the one that also carried the gun. But what Miller knew about the situation seems murky.

Ultimately, he hasn’t been charged with anything. He seems to be in the clear and video evidence viewed and reported by Patch Alabama paints a possible picture of self-defense from the shooter in the situation.  But, still, it’s hard to completely absolve him of any responsibility here either with so little information out about the case.

But, in the meantime, everything revolving around Miller and Alabama just slowly, but surely, corroded.

Miller, himself, had to walk around with armed security guards because of death threats being sent his way. Even before the tournament, fans were lobbing “lock him up” chants at the Crimson Tide forward as he continued to play on throughout the season.

Head coach Nate Oats spoke to reporters about how bad the situation had devolved for it to reach this point.

“If you guys saw some of what I’ve seen sent his way, I think you would understand why that’s the case…I don’t want to get into all that. The entire situation, as you know, is just a heartbreaking situation on all accounts.”

But Miller has also added fuel to the fire himself, participating in this completely abhorrent pat-down celebration. Oats said Miller felt “awful” about the celebration and took responsibility for it, but that doesn’t change the fact that it happened and that he was so willfully obtuse about it in the first place. There’s simply no excuse for that.

This has just been an absolute nightmare of a run for Alabama. It might be the most joyless run to the Sweet 16 we’ve ever seen. There was no talk about how Alabama had suddenly found success and how they could’ve made history by making it to an actual Final Four. Ultimately, they didn’t get close. But the storylines were there.

We just couldn’t talk about them because — let’s be honest — it didn’t feel right.

All you could think about with Alabama was, first, how someone died. And Miller seems to actually have something to do with that. Just seeing him out there playing ball felt weird. March Madness is supposed to feel good and this just didn’t.

Second, think about the position Miller is in. Granted, we don’t know what he knew. But imagine receiving death threats about you and your loved ones. Or having to walk around with armed security. And then you completely crap the bed in the biggest job interview of your life — that’s essentially what the NCAA tournament is for him. All of this at 19 years old.

Look, I have no idea what Miller did here or what he knew about the situation when he was in it. Jamea Harris lost her life. That’s the most important thing here.

But, to be frank, I’m glad Alabama’s season is over. I think we all should be. And, yes, that includes Brandon Miller, too.

Why Penny Hardaway tossed a water bottle across the court in Memphis’ loss to FAU

Penny Hardaway has to chill

Fairleigh Dickinson wasn’t the only school out there pulling off upsets on Friday in the men’s NCAA tournament. Florida Atlantic held things down against Penny Hardaway’s Memphis team, too.

Well, OK. Maybe this one isn’t really something we should categorize as an “upset” — Memphis was only an 8-seed and FAU was a 9-seed.

But, still, this was a pretty stunning loss when you consider the talent that Memphis has and the potential path the team had in front of it going to the Sweet 16.

FAU took all of that away on Friday with a win. Even before the final buzzer, though, Memphis coach Penny Hardaway was clearly pretty miffed about it.

He absolutely chucked a water bottle across the court after the loss.

This feels a bit out of character for Hardaway, who is normally very chill. He’s had his moments, to be sure, just as every coach does.

There’s a reason for this. The game actually came with a bit of controversy. Hardaway tried to call a timeout after the Tigers scooped up a loose ball with about five seconds left on the clock. Memphis had a one-point lead in the moment.

Officials didn’t award the timeout, though, and it led to a jump ball with the possession arrow going to FAU. The Owls had one last possession and it led to this game-winning layup from Nicholas Boyd. 

So, yeah. It’s easy to see why Hardaway was so upset. He still shouldn’t have thrown that bottle, though. Hopefully, it didn’t hit anyone.

Fairleigh Dickinson quite literally had the easiest schedule leading into March Madness, but still somehow beat Purdue

Fairleigh Dickinson University should absolutely not be here. Yet, here the Knights stand.

Listen, man. The more we learn about Fairleigh Dickinson University the more unbelievable it becomes that the team actually pulled off an upset against Purdue.

This was not supposed to happen. There’s a reason FDU busted every bracket in the country — no one believed in them with the exception of themselves. That’s it.

And, honestly, we were all absolutely right to pick against FDU. There was absolutely nothing there that said the team might be able to pull off one of the biggest upsets in men’s NCAA tournament history.

FDU quite literally had the easiest schedule in the country heading into the tournament. Out of 363 Division 1 men’s basketball teams, nobody had an easier time. And the team still finished the season 21-15.

Nobody should’ve believed in the Knights. Yet, now, the team is able to celebrate doing the impossible. And we’re all cheering them on while they’re doing it.

Isn’t March just wonderful? This is the best.

The FDU men’s basketball Twitter account has become best friends with the UMBC Twitter account, and it’s great

UMBC finally found a best friend in Farleigh Dickinson.

Finding a best friend is one of the best feelings in life. It’s what happens when you find someone on the same wave as you.

You like the same things. You do the same things. Sometimes you even eat the same foods. There are just a bunch of commonalities between you and another person. It’s always just a good time.

Now, the UMBC Twitter account finally has a best friend. It’s the Farleigh Dickinson men’s basketball team’s Twitter account. What do they have in common?

They both thrive in creating absolute chaos and busting brackets.

The UMBC Twitter account celebrated Fairleigh Dickinson’s victory over Purdue, which destroyed every men’s NCAA tournament bracket.

The FDU Twitter account caught wind of this and declared their new friendship together.

It was always going to be hard for UMBC to find someone who understood it. After all, it’s not often that you get a 16-seed upsetting a 1-seed. But if there’s anyone who understands the feeling, it’s FDU.

You absolutely love to see it. Well, let me take that back. Not if you’re Purdue. But everyone else? Again, you love to see it.

Tobin Anderson shared a quick, but sweet, hug with his son before celebrating FDU’s win over Purdue with his team

This is such a sweet and well-earned moment for the coach.

No matter what happens from here on out in the men’s NCAA tournament, Fairleigh Dickinson will always have the moment it beat Purdue and busted — quite literally — every single bracket.

The team’s head coach, Tobin Anderson, turned out to be the star of the show. He believed in his team from the very beginning — enough to call his own shot on their win before it even seemed possible.

That belief helped him put the players in the best positions to take down the Goliath that was Purdue and that’s exactly what FDU did. Good on them.

Of course, the team had their celebratory moment after the game. But before Anderson could join them in the locker room he had to share this quick embrace with his son, who was absolutely pumped for his dad and their team.

That’s such a sweet moment. And a well-earned one, too, considering what Anderson and the rest of the FDU crew just accomplished.

As a 16-seed, FDU has absolutely shocked the world. None of this was supposed to happen. The team isn’t supposed to be in this position. Yet, here we are.

No idea where things go from here, but FDU and Anderson will always have this. It’s great to see them enjoying it together with their loved ones.