The 2023 NCAA Men’s Final Four is set and it’s probably not the teams you expected. UCONN, Miami, San Diego St, and Florida Atlantic make up the Final Four bracket this year. A 4 seed, two 5 seeds, and a 9 seed. It’s safe to say this year’s March Madness is pretty crazy.

The Final Four is the pinnacle moment of the NCAA tournment. Making it means that you’ve succeeded 60 other teams and are only one step away from claiming a national title. So it’s a pretty big deal.

The University of Connecticut (UCONN) was the first team to secure their spot in the Final Four. UCONN advanced past Iona, Saint Mary’s, and Arkansas to move to the Elite Eight. The Elite Eight is a huge obstacle in the NCAA tournament, as it decides who makes the Final Four. UCONN faced the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who were ranked 3 in the West Region. The game was expected to be close, but the UCONN Huskies ended up sweeping the game and won 82-54. This marks the sixth time the UCONN Huskies has made the Final Four and the first time since 2014 when the Huskies won the national tournament. During the Huskies’ run, they began the seventh team in history to win all four games by 15 or more points before reaching the semi finals of the tournament. The Huskies are a very skilled and talented team, and definitly one to watch out for heading into the Final Four.

The next team was the Florida Atlantic University Owls. The Owls were already making a historic run since they’ve only made the NCAA tournament twice and this is their first ever Final Four in program history. To make it to the Final Four, the Owls faced Memphis, Farleigh Dickinson, and Tennessee before meeting Kansas St in the Elite Eight. The FAU Owls defeated the Kansas State Wildcats 79-76. According to USA Today, the Owls rank as one of the most unexpected teams to make the Final Four, since they are a number 9 seed. But don’t let their low ranking deceive you. The Owls have beat higher ranked teams and are solid contendors to win the entire thing.

The third team to make the Final Four was the Miami Hurricanes. Miami had lost last year in the Elite Eight and was looking for redemption. Just like the Owls, this is the Hurricanes first Final Four. Miami has faced Drake, Indiana, and Houston previously. Beating Houston really set the tone for the Hurricanes whereas Houston was the number 1 seed. After Houston, the Hurricanes played Texas who they beat by 9 points. The Miami Hurricanes played their best basketball against the Texas Longhorns, coming back from a 13 point deficit. Their impressive performance has really showed March Madness fans to not count them out just yet.

The final team to punch their ticket into the Final Four was the San Diego St Aztecs. The Aztecs beat the Creighton BlueJays by one single point in a stressful game to secure their spot. It was tied with 5 seconds left when the Aztecs inbounded the ball. Aztec guard Darrion Trammell was fouled with 1 second left and was sent to the line. He made them, winning the game. “The moment it wasn’t too big for me to do everything I’ve been through,” Trammell said in the postgame news conference. “I feel like the opportunity was just set there for me. It was God’s timing and I just had to believe in that and just having that confidence that, yeah, I missed the first one but I definitely wasn’t going to miss the second one.” Just like Miami, the Aztecs were number 5 and defeated a number 1 seed (Alabama). Along with Alabama, they’ve faced Charleston, Furman, and Creighton. The Aztecs have been dubbed one of the best defensive teams in the tournament and are for sure a threat to watch out for.

For the first time since 1970, 3 teams will make their first ever Final Four. Many say that this is an odd Final Four, but they are not to be underestimated. Throughout NCAA history, only 3 times has there been no number 1 seed in the Final Four round and 2023 is one of those years. Missing a number 1 seed brings an unknown element to the tournament whereas no one is sure who could end up victorious. All we know is that this Men’s March Madness Final Four is one for the books.