The 2023 NCAA Tournament has been a wild ride that features four unlikely teams in the 2023 Final Four. On this side of the bracket, the five-seeded San Diego State Aztecs will face off against the nine-seeded FAU Owls. The winner will play in the 2023 National Championship against either the four-seeded UConn Huskies or the five-seeded Miami Hurricanes. When the bracket was first revealed, no one had either of these two teams headed to Houston for these games. The road was long, but these teams could be just two games away from cutting down the nets for the first time ever.
2023 Final Four
San Diego State Aztecs
The name of the game for Head Coach Brian Dutcher and the San Deigo State Aztecs is defense. Taking down the Alabama Crimson Tide showcased exactly how good this team is on the defensive end of the ball. It all starts down low with starting big man Nathan Mensah and backup big man Aguek Arop. Their rim protection feeds the defenders on the outside and between the two of them, they average two blocks per game. Some of the best teams have struggled so score on the Aztecs including Alabama who scored just 64 points in their Sweet 16 matchup.
ALABAMA HAS FALLEN! San Diego State is in the Elite 8 for the first time EVER #MarchMadness
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) March 25, 2023
The downfall for San Deigo State could very well be on the other side of the ball. Offense has not been their strong suit this season and they have just one player in Matt Bradley who averaged double digits in points per game. Hot offensive teams run into good defensive teams and beat them all the time in the NCAA Tournament. The Aztecs scored 63 against Charleston, 75 against Furman, 71 against Alabama, and just 57 against Creighton. San Diego State will lean heavily on their defense, but if FAU is hitting shots, the Aztecs will need to score over 70 to have a chance in the game.
FAU Owls
The FAU Owls will have won the most games all year with a 35-3 record regardless of how the 2023 Final Four ends. This team is incredibly deep and Head Coach Dusty May has been able to go nine deep in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The team has a three-headed attack that is hard to stop with guard Johnell Davis, guard Alijah Martin, and center Vladislav Goldin. Other than those three they have several other players that could go for double digits in any one game. They also rarely take bad shots with a team field goal percentage of 47.2 percent and a three-point percentage of 37.2 percent.
FAU won’t go down without a fight!#MarchMadness
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) March 25, 2023
FAU has arguably had the easier path to Houston after not having to play the one-seeded Purdue Boilermakers thanks to the FDU Knights. A slow start could doom this team from the start of the game. San Deigo State is not a team that FAU can afford to give an early lead. Their defense is airtight, and FAU will need to start hot from the field. The Owls have also struggled some on defense in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. They gave up 65 points to Memphis, 70 to FDU, only 55 to Tennessee, and 76 to Kansas State. FAU has played most of their games close this year and that could spell trouble against a team that executes like the Aztecs.
