March Madness is a men’s Final Four
The Owls Aren’t Getting Fooled, But They Will Effort to Win: UConn in March Madness
The NCAA men’s college basketball season is winding down with four teams still in contention for the title.
These lower-ranked teams have stared down giants and taken care of business: No. 5 Miami beat No. 1 Houston and No. 2 Texas; No. 5 San Diego State knocked off overall No. 1 seed Alabama and then edged Creighton (No. 6); and No. 9 FAU beat No. 3 Kansas State and No. 4 Tennessee.
It’s a good sign that the most emphatic sign has to be the 82-54ubbing of Gonzaga by the University of Connecticut, which extended their defense to limit the normally prolific Bulldogs to 2 for 20 shooting from three-point range.
UConn, despite being a fourth seed, was fancied to continue a run of disappointing results in March Madness, having lost in the first round in the two years prior.
The scoring defense of the Final Four team isn’t in the top 50 nationwide. The Hurricanes have allowed over sixty six points per game, ranking them at 231 out of a possible 257. Now they’ll be tested by UConn and its star forward, Adama Sanogo.
After all, the Owls turned in the best record of any Division I team in the country, at 35-3. They were nationally ranked and didn’t lose a single game on their home court this season. FAU also won the title in Conference USA — which put two teams into the final of the National Invitational Tournament.
The Owls play at home in front of a large crowd. The head coach thinks his players are not going to be affected by the big stage because they love ball. They love to compete. And they have a lot of faith in their teammates.”
Darrion Trammell of the Aztecs: “The Moment wasn’t Too Big for Me,” he said after the Creighton win
After squeaking out a win over Creighton, Aztecs guard Darrion Trammell described what he was thinking in the final seconds: “That the moment wasn’t too big for me. Through everything I’ve been through, I feel like the opportunity was just set there for me.”
His team will try to convert that attitude into a win. Like FAU, San Diego State also has role players who can score. Both teams are in the top 25 nationwide in getting points from their bench.
In their dream run to the semifinals, San Diego State beat overall No. 1 seed Alabama in the Sweet 16 round – previously it had had never won a Sweet 16 game, never beaten a No. 1 seed, never knocked off a top-ranked opponent.
And after a March Madness which has thrown up surprises around every corner, to have no No. 1, 2 or 3 seeds in the penultimate round seems only fitting – it is the first time since seeding was introduced 44 years ago that this has happened.
A go-ahead basket with 2.5 seconds in the opening round against Memphis got the ball rolling, before victories against No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson and No. 4 Tennessee set up an Elite Eight clash with No. 3 Kansas State.
Bluejays guard Ryan Nembhard was called for a foul on Aztecs guard Darrion Trammell with 1.2 seconds left in the game. A replay showed the left hand of Nembhard on the hip of Trammell as he jumped for the shot.
The team has thrived off its excellent defense, holding Creighton to 2-for-17 shooting from behind the three-point arc, including 0-for-10 the second half, just two days after holding Alabama to 3-for-27.
San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said there were people who doubted they could do it, but they never doubted for a minute.
The Miami Hurricanes in the First Four Game of the 2016 NCAA Tournament: Jimmy Larraaga’s 12th Year in the Preseason
Led by 73-year-old Jim Larrañaga in his 12th year as head coach, the Hurricanes entered the tournament in inauspicious form, going 3-4 in January and suffering a damaging home loss to Florida State.
But ever since the start of the tournament over two weeks ago, Miami has been almost unstoppable, blowing away opponents and winning its first three games by a combined winning margin of 37 points.
A huge run late in the game against the Longhorns helped catapult the Hurricanes to an 88-81 victory and a spot in the final four.
For Larrañaga, who remembers many of the seismic shocks over the years, positivity at the beginning of the year has been vital in their run through the tournament.
“It’s the same exhilaration, just the jubilant attitude, because you just love when your players accomplish a goal they set out before the season,” Larrañaga said.
We have to start thinking of what we want to accomplish and work toward it every single day, because on the first day of practice we said what we wanted to accomplish. The guys have done that.
However, ever since their first tipoff, the team has been lights out. The average scoring margin for the first two games of the season was 19.5 points, before the Huskies defeated No. 3 seed Gonzaga in the Elite Eight.
The pressure is on the team to again hoist the trophy for the fifth time, as they are the only team left with a title to their name.
The Hurricanes shot poorly in the second half as the lead grew to 20 points. The lead was cut down to 10 points by Miami once more.
Huskies star center Adama Sanogo, who has been observing Ramadan and said earlier he would be eating oranges and coconut water before tip-off, was his dominant self. He ended the game with a game-high 21 points and 10 rebound. The guard, who was questionable to play because of a non-covid illness, added 13 points.
The Connecticut High School Basketball Program and the Hurley-Boundary Status of the ACC State Softball Team in New England (I)
Hurley told the CBS broadcast that he was happy he was able to attract the type of people that would put him in this position. “The coaching staff, these amazing players and I appreciate obviously the University of Connecticut. They took a chance on a guy that was a high school coach not too long ago. What a blessing and incredibly grateful. … We’ve been striving for five for a while.”
On Monday, the team will play San Diego State in Houston for a chance to win their fifth national championship.
