NCAA Tournament: FAU, Miami, San Diego State and UConn Engage Madness Mode

The NCAA Tournament did not expand beyond 32 teams until 1979, when 40 made the field and seeding was introduced, followed by 48 schools in 1980. The modern era of March Madness didn’t begin until 1985 when the tournament expanded to 64 teams.

That season 9-seed Penn out of the Ivy made the Final Four but had no chance against Magic Johnson and the eventual champion Michigan State (101-67), which set up a classic matchup against Larry Bird’s Indiana State team. 

Since then, nine teams seeded ninth or lower have made it to the final weekend of the college basketball season. But it didn’t happen again until 1986 when Dale Brown led 11-seed LSU behind John “Hotplate” Williams. The Bayou Bengals stunned No. 3 ranked Kentucky in the Elite Eight before losing in the semifinals to Louisville.

It would be another 20 years (!) before a nine seed or lower made it to the Final Four when Jim Larrañaga took surprise at-large selection, 11-seed George Mason, all the way to Indianapolis with their monumental upset of top-seeded UConn in the regional final. Their run would end there, as Florida took care of the Patriots on their way to the first of back-to-back titles.

In 2011, another team from the Colonial Conference broke through in 11-seed VCU as the college basketball world learned about Shaka Smart. The first four victors didn’t stop winning until semifinal Saturday when Brad Stevens and Butler ended their Cinderella run.

Two years later, another midmajor program began to rise the college basketball ranks, as 9-seed Wichita State crashed the Final Four with an upset of 2-seed Ohio State in the Elite Eight before giving Rick Pitino and Louisville a 72-68 scare.

The 2016 NCAA Tournament saw 10-seed Syracuse get a hotly-debated at-large bid which the Orange backed up with Jim Boeheim’s fifth Final Four, which included a miraculous 15-point comeback in the final ten minutes over 1-seed Virginia in the Elite Eight. Ultimately, North Carolina was too much in a battle of ACC foes.

Next up was Porter Moser, Sister Jean, and Loyola-Chicago’s Cinderella-friendly (some would say divine) path to the Final Four with 7-seed Nevada and 9-seed Kansas State in the 2018 regionals. There came no intervention against Michigan, as teams seeded ninth or lower were now 0-7 in the Final Four.

No team would get closer than 11-seed UCLA in 2021 when the Bruins survived the first-four opponent Michigan State in overtime before they found themselves back in OT against Gonzaga in the Final Four, which is where Johnny Juzang’s historic tournament (137 points) came to an end when Jalen Suggs sank his buzzer beater.

That’s eight bites at the apple without a single win by teams seeded ninth or lower. They have been coming closer and far more frequently.

Now it’s 9-seed Florida Atlantic’s turn. The Owls are the third such team to make the Final Final in the past five NCAA Tournaments and sixth in 12 after it happened just three times in the first 32 seasons since 1979.

A win feels like it’s coming. Why not now? Why not these Owls? It would be a fitting way to put a bow on what has been one of the maddest Marches we can remember.

Final Four Roll Call: Connecticut | Florida Atlantic | Miami | San Diego State

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