NCAA Tournament Final Four: FAU vs. San Diego State Preview

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Mar 31, 2023

After months and months of college hoops, we have finally reached the Final Four. Just four teams remain with a chance to achieve the ultimate goal of winning a National Championship, and we break down a few talking points we will be keeping an eye on in the matchups.#9 Florida Atlantic vs. #5 San Diego State Game Info

  • Location: NRG Stadium – Houston, TX
  • Time: 6:09 p.m. ET | TV: CBS

The seeding doesn’t show it, but this should be an entertaining chess match. While Florida Atlantic will look to utilize their guard play and space the floor on the offensive end, San Diego State will be keen on making this one sloppy and slowing the game down as much as possible. These two have quite a style contrast, making for an exciting tug-of-war.

There should be some concern about the difference in the level of physicality between the two, as the Aztecs will try to rough up the smaller guards for FAU. There is a different level of physicality head coach Brian Dutcher’s squad brings to the court that we’ve seen shake up a few opponents already this tournament.

Despite Alabama’s clear advantage in talent, they looked spooked at times with how scrappy and physical San Diego State was for all 40 minutes of that contest. It would not be surprising to see a smaller FAU feel the same.

The Owls are a team that loves the triple as they get over 37 percent of their scoring from beyond the arc, the 25th-highest in the nation. This could spell doom against SDSU, which limits opponents to the second-worst three-point percentage in Division I on the season.

Things are shaping up for the Aztecs to be able to make FAU quite uncomfortable in this one. We’ll see how head coach Dusty May and his Owls react to what could be their biggest test yet.

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Thumbnail photo via Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

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