NCAA Tournament: 5 key storylines for Florida Atlantic vs San Diego State matchup

March Madness has certainly lived up to its name this year. The chaos started early, with Fairleigh Dickinson becoming the second 16-seed to ever beat a 1-seed when it dominated Purdue. A 15-seed reached the Sweet Sixteen for the third year in a row, something that once seemed unfathomable. Only one of the top eight-seeded teams reached the Elite Eight, and now we have a Final Four in which 4-seed UConn is the prohibitive favorite.

Though the matchup between UConn and 5-seed Miami isn’t a complete shock, based on UConn’s metrics and Miami’s Elite Eight run a year ago, the other side of the bracket is a bit more difficult to have prognosticated. Representing the South region is San Diego State, the 5-seed. The Aztecs beat Cinderella hopefuls Charleston and Furman, before wearing down top-seeded Alabama in the Sweet 16 and edging out Creighton on a late free throw in the Elite Eight.

The East region is represented by the 9-seed Florida Atlantic Owls, a team that had never won an NCAA Tournament game before reeling off four straight against Memphis, Fairleigh Dickinson, Tennessee, and Kansas State. Don’t call this group a Cinderella, though, as they are now 35-3 on the season.

The 2022 Final Four had plenty of compelling storylines, such as Carolina vs. Duke in the rivals’ first-ever NCAA Tournament meeting, the end of the Mike Krzyzewski farewell tour, Villanova trying to win its third title in seven years, and one of the most “blue blood” Final Fours to ever take place.

This Final Four couldn’t share less in common with what took place last year. Some would have you believe that makes it less interesting, or worse, but this is what March Madness is all about. Any team can get hot and make a run. Eternal glory is only two games away. With that in mind, let’s take a look at five storylines that make Florida Atlantic vs. San Diego State so interesting.