March Madness 2023: Everything to know about the Final Four

Everyone’s heard of UConn. All these other guys? They’ll need name tags at the Final Four.

When they travel to Houston in the coming days to play for the national title, Florida Atlantic, San Diego State and Miami will be making their first appearances at college basketball’s grand finale, the first time since 1970 that three first-timers all showed up in the same year.

If the unfamiliar names — to say nothing of the seedings — are any indication, fans might look back on 2022-23 as the season when true parity finally sunk down deep into the bones of America’s favorite basketball tournament and turned March Madness into a total free-for-all, all the way to the last weekend.

There will be no No. 1 seed at the Final Four for the first time since 2011. Instead, there will be a 9 seed in Florida Atlantic, a pair of 5 seeds in SDSU and Miami, and a 4 seed in UConn. The combined seed total of the four teams is 23, the second-highest total since the seeding began in 1979. This marks the first time that not a single top-3 seed made it.

If UConn ends up winning it all, it will join Kentucky, North Carolina and Kansas as the fourth school to win the championship under three or more coaches. Dan Hurley would join Jim Calhoun and Kevin Ollie in the winner’s circle for the Huskies.

[2023 March Madness scheduled, times, TV info and more]

Here is everything to know about the Final Four in Houston.

THE MATCHUPS

No. 9 Florida Atlantic vs. No. 5 San Diego State
When: Saturday, 6:09 p.m. ET
Odds: San Diego State by 1.5 (per FOX Bet)

Florida Atlantic’s starting lineup:
G: Johnell Davis, So., 13.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG
C: Vladislav Goldin, So., 10.3 PPG, 6.6 RPG
G: Alijah Martin, So., 13.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG
G: Nicholas Boyd, So., 8.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG
G: Bryan Greenlee, Jr., 7.4 PPG, 2.4 RPG

About the Owls: FAU landed three key players from elsewhere, including Goldin, a 7-foot-1 Russian center. All moved to the campus in Boca Raton after less-than-successful stays at big-conference schools. No one was quite sure how coach Dusty May would blend all these new faces from different places. Turns out, he did pretty well. At 35-3, nobody has more wins this season than the Owls.

San Diego State’s starting lineup:
G: Darrion Trammell, Sr., 9.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 3.1 APG
G: Lamont Butler, Jr., 8.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 3.4 APG
G: Matt Bradley, Sr., 12.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG
F: Keshad Johnson, Sr., 7.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG
F: Nathan Mensah, Sr., 6.1 PPG, 5.9 RPG

About the Aztecs: A longtime power in the Mountain West Conference, San Diego State was 30-2 and projected for a No. 1 seed in 2020 when the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Three years later, the Aztecs (31-6) are two wins away from the title. Their top two scorers, Bradley and Trammell, are — you guessed it — products of the transfer portal, though coach Brian Dutcher brought them in as much for defense as scoring. SDSU made it this far behind a defense that held top-seeded Alabama to 32% shooting in the Sweet 16 and held Creighton to 11% from 3-point range in Sunday’s win.

No. 5 Miami vs. No. 4 UConn
When: Saturday, 8:49 p.m. ET
Odds: UConn by 5.5

UConn’s starting lineup:
G: Jordan Hawkins, So., 16.3 PPG, 3.8 RBG
G: Andre Jackson, Jr., 6.8 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 4.7 APG
G: Tristen Newton, Sr., 9.9 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.7 APG
F: Adama Sanogo, Jr., 17.1 PPG, 7.5 RPG
F: Alex Karaban, Fr., 9.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG

About the Huskies: No team was undervalued more than UConn (29-8), which entered the tournament with 25 wins, a No. 8 standing in the NET rankings — which looks at quality wins among other factors — and the still-developing potential of junior Sanogo, who has averaged 20 points and just a touch under 10 rebounds in four tournament games.

Miami’s starting lineup:
G: Jordan Miller, Sr., 15.1 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 2.7 APG
G: Nijel Pack, So., 13.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.4 APG
G: Isaiah Wong, Jr., 16.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 3.3 APG
G: Wooga Poplar, So., 8.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG
F: Norchad Omier, So., 13.3 PPG, 10.1 RPG

About the Hurricanes: Heading into the Elite Eight, Miami coach Jim Larrañaga — who brought George Mason to the Final Four as an 11 seed 17 years ago — said the portal was the basketball equivalent of speed dating. Worked for him. The third- and fourth-leading scorers for the Hurricanes (29-7), Pack and Omier, both came to The U from the portal.

Florida Atlantic-San Diego State winner vs. Miami-UConn winner (National championship game)
When: Monday, 9 p.m. ET

PRE-FINAL FOUR READING

Florida Atlantic has a coach who never intended to coach and a team filled with transfers who never moved the needle elsewhere. How did this happen? Playing together and a lot of confidence. “We were built for this moment.” READ MORE
Three years ago, Dan Hurley promised that the UConn basketball program “was coming.” Now, after his Huskies cruised their way to the Final Four in dominant fashion, they have clearly arrived. READ MORE
There are many theories as to why the Big Ten hasn’t won an NCAA basketball championship since 2000, but the data is murky. We take a look at the evidence and try to understand why such a powerful conference has repeatedly come up short. READ MORE
The transfer portal has had a huge impact on the sport of college basketball, and it seems likely to continue doing so moving forward. Here is the latest on which top players are on the move. READ MORE
With St. John’s and Georgetown making splash coaching hires and UConn marching to the Final Four, the Big East Conference has made a huge splash this March. What lies ahead? “We’re going to win a lot.” READ MORE