NCAA Tournament 2023: One X-factor to watch from each Final Four team

“Hey, look at us. Who would’ve thought?”

That Paul Rudd meme perfectly encapsulates the teams left standing in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. As has been much discussed this week, its arguably the wildest Final Four in the history of the sport.

The No. 4 UConn Huskies are probably the favorite to take home the title. They are the only  program in the bunch that has been here before. If nothing else, they’re also the highest remaining seed left in the tournament.

The other teams feel like complete wild cards. Maybe some expected each of No. 5 Miami, No. 5 San Diego State, and No. 9 Florida Atlantic to be here. But all together? With the way they’ve been scorching opponents en route to Houston? No way.

With the Final Four of the 2023 NCAA Tournament tipping off in Houston on Saturday evening, who are the X-factors for the remaining teams?

The stars on these teams are becoming household names. Every knows the exploits of Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins at UConn, as well as the constant stomping of their coach, Dan Hurley. Matt Mitchell is a star at San Diego State, while Miami’s batch of NIL and NIL-adjacent stars keep showing up in the big moments.

Those aren’t the players who will decide which team is cutting down the nets on Monday night. Instead, it will be a group of X-factors, players who have the ability to get hot at the right time, make a clutch shot, a vital defensive play, or exploit a weakness of the opponent.

Here’s one X-factor from each Final Four squad.