Not blue blood, but instead we get some new blood in Houston for this Final Four. Florida Atlantic and San Diego State are both making their debut in the Men’s Final Four tonight. There is a lot of hype for the game to follow this one, but I think we would be fools to glance over this one. Yes, both teams have never been to the Final Four, but The Owls are 35-3 and finished in the #25 spot in the AP Poll, and the Aztecs are 31-6 and finished in the #18 spot. We have a top 25 matchup in the Final Four and you will find a lot of people who are not excited about it. Enough of that please.
Let's get the juices flowing.
What can we expect from this game?
Here we have a San Diego State team who is one of the most dominant defensive teams in the country, against a FAU team who can kill you on the offensive side, but can also hold their own on defense. Something has to give tonight, so what will it be?
You will not find either team with an advantage when you look at coaches, experience, etc. Neither team has been on this stage before so you can toss all that garbage out the window. The team who wins this game will have to be consistent on both sides of the ball. So, who has been better at that throughout the tournament? FAU.
This game is a mirror image of their matchup against Tennessee in the Sweet 16. Going into that game, the questions were 1) Can FAU break down the Tennessee Defense? 2) Can the FAU defense play well enough to even stay in the game? 3) Can FAU make enough threes to win the game? FAU scored 40 points in the second half after a slow start in the first, made eight threes, and limited Tennessee to just 55 points. FAU got hot from three last game against Kansas State, and every single person that will see the floor tonight is efficient on both sides of the ball.
On the other side, San Diego State. It is true about their defense, it is stifling and can be frustrating for opponents. But, their offense has been gross and the only reason they beat Creighton was because nobody on the Blue Jays could hit water if they fell out of a boat. I don't expect SDSU to have a great offensive night tonight, and I believe FAU will be ready to roll on both sides of the ball. Also, FAU has picked up steam at the free throw line in the tournament, shooting 73.1%, whereas SDSU is only shooting at a 65% clip. There is a big chance this game comes down to free throws, and FAU will have the advantage if/when it does.
Give me FAU ML (+116) and lets have some #fun with it.
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