The Final Four That Nobody Could Have Expected

In that way, San Diego State has much in common with the other participants of this haphazard, helter-skelter Final Four: Miami, Florida Atlantic and Connecticut.

For the first time since 1970, the Final Four will have three first-time participants. And though Connecticut is gunning for its fifth championship since 1999 (under its third different coach), the Huskies began their run with only one tournament victory since their last title in 2014.

“It’s March Madness, emphasis on the madness,” Matt Bradley, a senior guard, said in a jubilant San Diego State locker room.

A sign of what was to come arrived in the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, when Fairleigh Dickinson, a No. 16 seed that didn’t win its conference in the regular season or the postseason tournament, won a play-in game, which served as a prelude to their upset of No. 1-seeded Purdue.

“Winning our first game and seeing Purdue lose, that gives teams hope,” Bradley said. “OK, anybody can be beaten. What teams did during the regular season doesn’t really matter at this point. It’s just about these games now. I think we took that challenge on. Whoever we play, let’s not worry about what they did before. Let’s see who has the best guys now.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/27/sports/ncaabasketball/mens-final-four-preview.html