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

Florida Atlantic: C Vladislav Goldin

Big man Vladislav Goldin is no sideshow for the Florida Atlantic Owls. He’s always been a critical piece of what they do. He’ll be even more critical as San Diego State tries to shut down FAU’s high-scoring guards.

The Russian 7-footer was most visible during the tussle with the Tennessee Volunteers in the Sweet Sixteen. He spent ample time duking it out with Volunteer big man Uros Plavsic in a head-to-head that could be best described as being “testy.”

But that was actually Goldin’s worst game of the tournament thus far. Whatever you’d like to say about Plavsic’s play that day, Goldin was limited to only three points and three shot attempts, though he managed to pull down a respectable seven boards.

Goldin’s best game of the tournament came two days later. He dominated the Kansas State Wildcats in the Elite Eight, recording a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. He also blocked a couple of shots, his most since the first round.

There are a lot of prominent big men playing in the Final Four. Goldin is going to have his hands full with them, but if he can keep them occupied and alert, FAU’s star guards should have plenty of room to operate.

First up will be San Diego State’s Nathan Mensah, who is a solid defender and rebounder, but not much of a scorer and he struggles from the free throw line. That’s something Goldin may look to exploit in the early game.