Rob Issa, FISM News
The Final Four is nearly filled with first-timers.
Miami, Florida Atlantic, and San Diego State are in for the first time in school history. They’ll be joined in Houston next weekend by No. 4 seed Connecticut, the highest remaining seed in the NCAA tournament.
This is the first time no team seeded higher than No. 4 made the Final Four since seeding began in 1970. No. 5 seed San Diego State will face No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic. No. 5 seed Miami takes on No. 4 seed UConn.
HURRICANES HEADED TO HOUSTON
The No. 5 seed Hurricanes knocked off No. 2 seed Texas 88-81 Sunday in yet another upset to complete the field.
Jordan Miller and Isaiah Wong helped Miami overcome a 13-point second-half deficit and Norchad Omier made two clutch free throws down the stretch. Omier’s steal helped seal the victory as Miami won the Midwest Region a year after falling short in the Elite Eight.
“No one wanted to go home,” Miller said. “We came together. We stuck together. We showed really good perseverance and the will — the will to just want to get there.”
Miller scored 27 points without missing a shot. He was 7 of 7 from the field and 13 of 13 from the foul line, joining Duke’s Christian Laettner as the only players since 1960 to go 20 for 20 combined from the field and foul line in an NCAA tourney game.
“The game Jordan Miller had is ridiculous,” head coach Jim Larranaga said. “That’s pretty good to score 27 points on seven shots.”
Wong scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half to help Miami eliminate the Longhorns.
AZTECS ADVANCE AGAIN
No. 5 seed San Diego State advanced with a thrilling 57-56 win over Creighton on Sunday. Darrion Trammell made a floater with 1.2 seconds left, got fouled, and complete the 3-point play to lift the Aztecs over No. 6 seed Creighton.
Lamont Butler scored 18 points and Trammell had 12 to help San Diego State win the South Region and became the first Mountain West Conference team to reach the national semifinals.
“I feel like I’ve shot probably a thousand free throws in the last week,” Trammell said. “And then today, I feel like I put in the work to be able to step up and have confidence that I’m going to make ’em.”
Ryan Kalkbrenner led the Bluejays with 17 points. The team shot just 2-of-17 from 3-point range.
“It’s a tough feeling. You work so hard all year, and it comes down to a play like that,” said Ryan Nembhard, who fouled Trammell on the decisive play. “I think we could have done a little bit more to make it a game that didn’t have to go down to that, but it’s a tough way to lose.”
OWLS OVERCOME NOWELL
FAU beat Kansas State 79-76 on Saturday night to win the East Region in only the second tourney appearance in school history.
Bryan Greenlee scored 16 points to help the Owls overcome another sensational performance by Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell, who had 30 points, 12 assists, and five steals.
“Honestly, all the things people say just fuels us to go out there and play even harder,” Greenlee said. “They can say whatever they want, say we’re a Cinderella team, say we don’t belong, but we’ve constantly proven people wrong all season.”
FAU has continued to prove doubters wrong with one upset after another in an unpredictable tournament.
“I expect the prognosticators to pick us fifth in the Final Four,” fifth-year FAU coach Dusty May said.
UCONN BACK AGAIN
UConn routed third-seeded Gonzaga 82-54 on Saturday night to reach its first Final Four since 2014. Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points to lead UConn past the Bulldogs.
With five previous Final Four appearances and four national championships since 1999, the Huskies are by far the most experienced school still playing.
“The climb to get to this point has been real and it’s been more challenging than I thought,” Huskies coach Dan Hurley said.
FINAL FOUR SCHEDULE:
(Games airing on CBS)
Saturday, April 1
San Diego State vs. Florida Atlantic – 6:09 p.m. ET
UConn vs. Miami – 8:49 p.m. ET