When the last four teams standing in the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament wound up being a four seed, two five seeds and a nine seed, and only one of those four teams could qualify as a “blue blood” program, there was a concern that the Final Four here in Houston would be some sort of afterthought on the sports landscape.
So while ticket prices on the secondary market plummeted to under $100 to attend BOTH games on Saturday, and while television ratings will likely back up the notion outlined in the above paragraph, the games themselves on Saturday were compelling, and not surprisingly, the city of Houston put on a good show this weekend, marquee value of participants be damned!
In the end, the opener saw San Diego State, who trailed the entire second half except when the clock read 0:00, defeat Cinderella Florida Atlantic on a Lamont Butler buzzer beater. The nightcap saw heavy favorite Connecticut show why they are a heavy favorite, with their fifth straight double digit win of the tourney, 72-60 over Miami.
Tonight, it will be Connecticut, going for their fifth title in school history, against San Diego State, participating in the first Final Four for any team in MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE history, let alone school history. So, if you plan to tune in, here are a few things to watch for:
San Diego State’s relentlessness
With 14 minutes to go in the semifinal, San Diego State trailed FAU by a score of 56-42, and they looked dead in the water offensively. At that point, the Aztecs dug in and played the level of defense that had gotten them to the Final Four to begin with. That relentlessness bled over into their rebounding, particularly at the offensive end, where they had nine offensive rebounds in the second half, including six in a 59 second stretch toward the end of the game. Connecticut has been able to squelch the life out of their opponents all tournament long, winning by double digits every night. I sense the Aztecs will not go away quietly on Monday night.
Adama Sanogo, MOP leader in the clubhouse
Right now, the leader in the clubhouse for the Final Four Most Outstanding Player is Connecticut’s center, Sanogo, who had about as efficient a 21 points (9 of 11 shooting) as a player could have, flashing some surprising three point range early in the game and showing off his muscle late. Connecticut’s biggest edge in the tournament so far, other than their sheer depth, has been the fact that they have one of Sanogo or backup center Donovan Clingan on the floor at all times. What an advantage that’s been.
The long and winding road for UConn
What a long, strange trip it has been for the Connecticut basketball program. Since 1999, no men’s hoops program has won more titles than Connecticut’s, with four championships, one ahead of North Carolina and Duke, who each have three. However, Connecticut’s journey has been like that of no other blue blood program in the sport. Since their last title in 2014, for about five or six seasons, they had to follow their football program to the American Athletic Conference, a move that completely decimated their recruiting and fractured the fan base. Wisely, they moved back to the Big East for all sports but football, which is now independent. Kudos to head coach Danny Hurley for pulling the Huskies out of basketball purgatory and onto the big stage once again.
Jim Nantz says “Goodbye, friends”
Finally, if you’re watching the game on television tonight, you will be part of history, as CBS legend and University of Houston alum, Jim Nantz, steps aside from his role as lead announcer on CBS for the men’s tournament. This will be his last Final Four that he calls, as Nantz gives way to Ian Eagle beginning in 2024. Eagle is very talented, and will do a phenomenal job, but there is something about Nantz’s voice that is synonymous with this event that will be missed. For the record, the power ranking of things synonymous with Nantz’s voice goes like this — The Masters, the Final Four, and utter disgust with Tony Romo’s unpreparedness to call NFL games on Sundays.
PREDICTION: UConn 72, San Diego State 58
SPREAD: UConn -7
Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
