Making a CFP field that is reminiscent of this year’s NCAA men’s Final Four.
This year’s Final Four field is a bit different than years past. There are no “Blue Bloods” among the teams competing for the national championship. Unless you consider UConn among the blue-blood squads. If you ask Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga, they definitely are.
The Huskies are the only team that has been on this stage before but it has been nine years since they cut down the nets. San Diego State, Florida Atlantic, and Miami are all vying to win their school’s first title.
How would this relate to the College Football Playoff? The upcoming college football season will be the last time that we see the field of four for the annual tournament to determine the national champions. Starting in 2024 there will be 12 teams competing for the title.
In the spirit of having a unique field of four in the College Football Playoffs, College Sports Wire tried to compare how that field would relate to this year’s NCAA men’s basketball Final Four field.
“The hard part for Vol fans….FAU now has as many Elite 8 appearances as Tennessee.”
The Tennessee Vols looked to be in control early on in this game but no consistent scoring option left them vulnerable to the Florida Atlantic Owls. FAU would come roaring back after trailing at the half for the 62-55 victory.
The Owls had only made it to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history. Until they knocked off the No. 8 Memphis Tigers, they had never won a tournament game. Now they are 40 minutes away from a trip to the Final Four, they just have to get by the Kansas State Wildcats in the Elite Eight.
However, on Thursday night they were the kings of the court. At least when it came to playing the Vols. Tennessee shot an abysmal 33.3% from the field in this game and 26.1% from behind the arc. Not to mention, the Owls outrebounded them as well. The Vols did create turnovers, they just couldn’t do anything with the ball.
Johnell Davis of FAU led all scorers with 15 points, nine of which came on 10 free throw attempts. Michael Forrest came off the bench giving the Owls a spark with 11 points with three of his six shots from beyond the arc falling for him.
The Vols’ Josiah Jordan James and Jonas Aidoo each scored 10 points but it just wasn’t enough offense. Their defense kept them in the game but lack of shots dropping will eventually do your team in, especially this late in the tournament.
Rick Barnes’ postseason record dropped to .500 after this game at 27-27. As the Vols head coach, he hasn’t been able to get past the Sweet 16.
College Sports Wire checks in on Twitter and what they were discussing after the game.
16 teams remain in this year’s NCAA Tournament but who has looked the best so far?
The NCAA Men’s Tournament is officially moving into the second week and the field has narrowed from 68 to just 16. It’s one of the more diverse Sweet 16 teams in recent memory.
Just two No. 1 seeds remain in Alabama and Houston, coincidentally, the top two seeds in the tournament. Beyond the Crimson Tide and Cougars, seven of the remaining teams are four seeds or higher in Texas, UCLA, Xavier, Gonzaga, Kansas State, and UConn. Then you have tournament long shots in Arkansas, Creighton, FAU, Michigan State, and Princeton.
That being said, the one thing that for certain is that the parity in this year’s tournament is quite strong. While Alabama looks the part of a tournament favorite, beyond the Crimson Tide, there are strong arguments for five or six other programs to potentially come out on top next month in Houston. That makes it quite hard to power rank the 16 teams remaining heading into week two. That being said, we gave it a go and did just that.
We’re talking about 1-seed Purdue, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 5 Duke, No. 6 Kentucky and a few more squads that could make deep tournament runs.
There aren’t many locks when it comes to a region like this, but I sorted through the mess to find the best bets of the best.
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It should come as a surprise to absolutely no one that Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban took home the top spot. Despite Kirby Smart winning back-to-back national championships, it wasn’t enough to unseat one of the greatest head coaches of all time. Saban has won seven national championships since 2000.
On Tuesday, they released their top Group of 5 head coach rankings. Gilmer high school coaching legend Jeff Traylor made the list as the top head coach heading into 2023.
What The Athletic Says…
Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports
Few coaching hires anywhere have been as successful as Traylor, who in three years has produced the three best seasons in UTSA’s short history. The Roadrunners have won two consecutive Conference USA championships, with a 23-5 overall record and a 17-1 record against C-USA teams over the last two years. He also just signed the No. 1 G5 high school recruiting class in the 2023 cycle. Traylor passed on interest from Texas Tech a year ago, but the former legendary Texas high school coach is making his mark at the college level.
Traylor joined the Texas Longhorns following the 2014 season with Gilmer, he served as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach in 2015 and 2016. He was named associate head coach at SMU and also coached running backs for one season prior to joining the Arkansas staff. UT-San Antonio would make Traylor their next head coach for the 2022 campaign. He was named Conference USA Coach of the Year in each of the last two seasons. This year he will look for his first bowl victory.
Another former Longhorn coach made the list as he returns to the collegiate landscape with Tom Herman checking in at No. 7.
What The Athletic Says…
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The former Houston and Texas coach is back in college football after two seasons spent in the NFL and in the media. Herman’s resume is still quite impressive: Four Top 25 finishes in six years as a head coach (including two top 10s), two New Year’s Six bowl wins, zero seasons with a losing overall or conference record. He takes over an FAU team moving from Conference USA to the American Athletic Conference. Herman is only this low because it’s been a few years since he was last in college football.
Herman finished his run at Texas with four-straight winning seasons and becoming the only Longhorns head coach to win a bowl game in each of his first four seasons. He never suffered a losing season but athletic director Chris Del Conte opted to go in a different direction, ultimately hiring Steve Sarkisian away from Alabama.
After being away from the college game for two years, we shall see what Herman has in store with FAU as he returns to the AAC where he coached Houston from 2015 to 2016.
These two head coaches will go head to head on Oct. 21 in Boca Raton. This conference matchup’s game time is still to be determined.
Here’s what you need to know about tonight’s baseball action in Condron Family Ballpark.
Florida baseball gets set to host the Florida Atlantic Owls on Wednesday, March 8, in the second of a pair of midweek matchups at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Florida, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.
The Gators started the season with a three-game sweep of the visiting Charleston Southern Buccaneers but split a home-and-home with the South Florida Bulls that saw both teams win the away game during the week. The Orange and Blue bounced back from the USF loss with a sweep of the visiting Cincinnati Bearcats two weekends ago but then split another home-and-home with the Jacksonville Dolphins last week. This past weekend, Florida took two of three at home from the No. 22 Miami Hurricanes.
Florida took the first game of the midweek series on Tuesday night, 18-11.
Here’s what you need to know about tonight’s baseball action in Condron Family Ballpark.
Florida baseball gets set to host the Florida Atlantic Owls on Tuesday, March 7, in the first of a pair of midweek matchups at Condron Family Ballpark in Gainesville, Florida, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.
The Gators started the season with a three-game sweep of the visiting Charleston Southern Buccaneers but split a home-and-home with the South Florida Bulls that saw both teams win the away game during the week. The Orange and Blue bounced back from the USF loss with a sweep of the visiting Cincinnati Bearcats two weekends ago but then split another home-and-home with the Jacksonville Dolphins last week. This past weekend, Florida took two of three at home from the No. 22 Miami Hurricanes.
Take a look at some of the best pictures from Florida’s first-ever loss to FAU.
Florida basketball lost to the Florida Atlantic Owls for the first time in four tries on Monday night, taking a 76-74 loss to their visitors on the O’Connell Center court. The Gators were sloppy throughout the game after looking quite tight in their opening two matchups.
Center [autotag]Colin Castleton[/autotag] dropped 30 points on FAU after scoring a career-high 33 against the Kennesaw State Owls. However, it was not nearly enough to neutralize the visitor’s blistering three-point assault, which they shot at a 54% clip.
Otherwise, the Orange and Blue had three other players who scored in the double digits: [autotag]Will Richard[/autotag] (14), [autotag]Kyle Lofton[/autotag] (14) and [autotag]Kowacie Reeves[/autotag] (11). Castleton also notched a double-double with 12 rebounds.
Take a look below at some of the best photographs from Florida’s first loss of the 2022-23 season at the hands of the Florida Atlantic Owls.
With tipoff fast approaching, here’s what you need to know to follow Florida’s Monday night matchup with FAU.
The Florida Gators host the Florida Atlantic Owls inside the O’Connell Center in Gainesville on Monday, Nov. 14, in the third game of the 2022-23 men’s basketball season, and if you’re wondering how you can watch the action live, you’ve come to the right place.
The Gators are off to a hot start to the Todd Golden era with two wins under its belt after the first week of play after defeating the Stony Brook Seawolves in the season-opener and the Kennesaw State Owls in their second game. The visitors arrive in Gainesville with a 1-1 record, having won its opener against Lynn Fighting Knights but falling against the Ole Rebels in their second game.
Florida has faced its in-state sibling school thrice prior on the O’Dome parquet winning all three times. The Gators lapped the Owls in the first two, notching a 100-42 win in 2000 as well as a 90-45 triumph in 2004; the 2010 matchup resulted in a 79-66 final score.
Take a look at the lines for Monday night’s men’s basketball action in the O’Connell Center.
Florida basketball is off to a hot start to the [autotag]Todd Golden[/autotag] era with two wins under its belt after the first week of play. Sure, those victories came at home against the Stony Brook Seawolves and Kennesaw State Owls — not exactly peak competition — but nonetheless have looked like a squad that might be fun to watch this season.
The Gators’ third game will once again be played in the O’Connell Center, this time against the Florida Atlantic Owls, who arrive in Gainesville with a 1-1 record. FAU won its opener against Lynn Fighting Knights but fell against the Ole Rebels in its second game.
Florida has faced its in-state sibling school thrice prior on the O’Dome parquet winning all three games. The Gators lapped the Owls in the first two, notching a 100-42 win in 2000 as well as a 90-45 triumph in 2004; the 2010 matchup resulted in a 79-66 final score.
