NCAA Tournament 2023: Ranking each of the Final 4 teams – who is No. 1?

4. Florida Atlantic (9-seed)

Florida Atlantic was not supposed to be here. One of the darlings of this NCAA Tournament, the Owls were picked to finish 5th in Conference USA, but put those predictions to rest early and often this year. An early road win at Florida was the first part of a 20-game winning streak that got this program ranked for the first time in their history. The Owls then persevered through conference play and won the CUSA Tournament, settling for a 9-seed despite impressive metrics and a NET in the 10’s.

The Owls have had their share of drama in this Tournament. A last second shot by Nicholas Boyd got Florida Atlantic past Memphis in the opening round; their Tournament was almost finished as quickly as it started. They then held serve against Cinderella 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson in the second round. In the Sweet Sixteen, the Owls used a second-half rally to upset 4-seed Tennessee and their elite defense. Two days  later, Florida Atlantic knocked out Kansas State in a close thriller, holding on by 3 points to make their first trip to the Final Four.

There’s only one senior on this Florida Atlantic roster and a crew of sophomores are delivering for Dusty May’s squad. Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin both average 13 points a game while fellow sophomore Vladislav Goldin is a 7’1 forward who really delivered in their Elite Eight win over the weekend. This is a deep rotation that plays incredible basketball as a team and has no fear.

Not only are the Owls the second-ever 9-seed to make the Final Four but this run has been the program’s first four wins in any NCAA Tournament. They are truly fearless, even though they’ve never been in a position like this before. Florida Atlantic leads the entire nation in wins; this team knows how to win ballgames and have proven it against Memphis, Tennessee, and Kansas State in the last two weeks.