These 4 Players Should Be On Your Final Four Radar

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The actual place in which the Final Four will blast off on Saturday is Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States. Houston's also a brave world of new space for three of the four voyagers coming from coast to coast.

Florida Atlantic, San Diego State and Miami will be in their first Final Four, a term coined for the NCAA Tournament national semifinals and championship game in 1975 by a sportswriter and later trademarked by the NCAA. The NCAA began crowning men's basketball champions in 1939. Connecticut is the fourth team in and is in its sixth Final Four with championships in 1999, 2004, '11 and '14.

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The NCAA began seeding teams in 1979, and this is the first time in the history of the Final Four that no teams with better than a fourth seed made it.

Final Four Has Fresh Entries In Houston

Florida Atlantic (35-3) is just the third No. 9 seed to reach the promised land after Penn in 1979 and Wichita State in 2013. The Owls from Boca Raton lead the nation in wins. The San Diego State Aztecs (31-6) and the Miami Hurricanes (29-7) are each No. 5 seeds.

"And you know what? Embrace it. It’s a good thing," CBS play-by-play man and Houston native Jim Nantz said after Miami upset No. 2 seed Texas, 88-81, Sunday in the Midwest Region title game to close the weekend.

"This tournament is about dreamers," Nantz said. "You get a chance. You get your shot. You go out there and prove it, and you earn it. And that's what we're going to have in Houston."

NCAA Tournament Has Delivered Upsets

UConn (29-8) is the best seed still standing at No. 4. No. 1 overall seed Alabama lost to San Diego State on Friday. No. 1 seed Houston lost a chance to host the Final Four by falling to Miami on Friday. No. 1 seed Kansas fell in the second round to 8 seed Arkansas. No. 1 seed Purdue lost in the first round to No. 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson.

FAU and San Diego State open the Final Four at 6:09 p.m. Saturday on CBS from Houston's 72,220-seat NRG Stadium. Miami and UConn will follow at approximately 8:49 p.m. The championship game will be at 9:20 p.m. Monday.

Here is the top player from each team expected to be a problem in Houston for opponents:

Vladislav Goldin, Florida Atlantic

Goldin is a 7-foot-1 sophomore center from Nalchick, Russia. He moved to Connecticut in high school and played at Putnam Science Academy.

Season Averages: 10.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.2 blocked shots.

NCAA Tournament Averages: 7.7 points, 8.25 rebounds, 1.5 blocked shots.

Florida Atlantic is known for its 3-point shooting prowess as it is 13th in the nation in 3-pointers made per game at 9.6. The Owls are also the 330th ranked team in overall height. But Goldin stands out literally and keeps the team balanced with stellar inside play. He dominated against 4 seed Tennessee's beefy, tall inside players on Thursday as FAU won 62-55. Goldin scored 14 points with 13 rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals.

It is Goldin who makes FAU more than just a finesse Cinderella. The Owls defeated Tennessee and Kansas State because of its rebounding ability on both ends of the court.

Darrion Trammell, San Diego State

San Diego State guard Darrion Trammell scored 21 points with five rebounds and two steals in the Aztecs' upset of No. 1 overall seed Alabama Friday in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Trammell is a 5-10, 175-pound senior guard from Marin City, California, who played at Saint Ignatius High in San Francisco. He played his freshman season at San Francisco City College, then two years at Seattle University before transferring to San Diego State.

Season Averages: 9.9 points, 3.0 assists, 1.2 assists.

NCAA Tournament Averages: 12.7 points, 4.0 rebounds.

It was Trammell who missed a short floater in the lane with 1.2 seconds left and the score tied at 56 against No. 6 seed Creighton on Sunday in Louisville. But Creighton's Ryan Nembhard drew a controversial foul after just nudging him with his left hand as Trammell went up. Trammell sold the contact well as he fell to the floor. He missed the first free throw, but nailed the second pressure-packed toss for the 57-56 win.

Trammell finished 1-of-2 from the line for 12 points.

"I put the work in," Trammell said. "I had nothing to be nervous about. It's just a game."

That Was A Big Free Throw

And it was just the biggest free throw in the history of the San Diego State program. Creighton, meanwhile, was also playing for its first Final Four after not getting this far since 1941.

"I'm doing this for my family," Trammell said. "I've been dreaming this my whole life. I can't put this into words."

But he put the ball in the hoop.

"I'm super excited," he said.

That kind of vein ice could serve well in Houston.

Jordan Miller, Miami

Miami guard Jordan Miller celebrates during the second half of the Hurricanes' win over No. 2 seed Texas in the Elite Eight round on Sunday in Kansas City. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Miller is a 6-7, 195-pound senior guard/forward from Middleburg, Virginia, who played at Loudoun Valley High in Purcellville, Virginia. After three seasons at George Mason, he transferred to Miami before the 2021-22 season. He plays under former George Mason coach Jim Larranaga (1997-2011).

Season Averages: 15.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists.

NCAA Tournament Averages: 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists.

Move Over Christian Laettner

Miller became the first player since Duke's Christian Laettner in 1992 to score 27 points or more on perfect shooting in an NCAA Tournament game in the Hurricanes' 88-81 Midwest Region championship victory over Texas on Sunday. Miller hit 7-of-7 shots from the field and 13 of 13 from the line for 27 points. Laettner was 10 of 10 from the field with a 3-pointer and 10 of 10 from the line for 31 points in Duke's 104-103 win over Kentucky in the East Region final 31 years ago.

"How good is this guy?" Larranaga said.

"No one wanted to go home," Miller said. "Perseverance, and the will to get there. It just feels great right now."

Miami also has junior guard Isaiah Wong (16.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists), who is the only one of 16 Wooden Award candidates to reach the Final Four. But Miller has been the team's soul and emotional leader since a loss to eventual champion Kansas in the Midwest Regional final last year.

"It hurt," he said. "That gut feeling, it doesn't go away. The fact that we had the opportunity to come back and make amends, make it right, that's what we were playing for."

Jordan Hawkins, Connecticut

Connecticut guard Jordan Hawkins drives for two points against Arkansas Razorbacks last Thursday in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Hawkins is a 6-5, 195-pound sophomore guard from Gaithersburg, Maryland, who went to DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Maryland.

Season Averages: 16.3 points, 3.8 rebounds.

NCAA Tournament Averages: 17.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.25 assists.

Hawkins is the hottest 3-point shooter in the Final Four. On the season, he has hit 104 of 270 for 38 percent. He turned that up in the NCAA Tournament, hitting 16 of 31 for a torrid 51 percent. He hit 4 of 5 in the Huskies' 70-55 win over St. Mary's in the second round. Then he knocked down 6 of 10 in the 82-54 blowout of No. 3 seed Gonzaga in the West Region title game on Saturday.

UConn has barely worked up a sweat in the tournament, largely because of Hawkins' touch. The Huskies have won their four games by an average of 22 points.

UConn is the lone clear favorite in a sea of Cinderellas.

"I expect us to be picked fifth in the Final Four," FAU coach Dusty May said.

Enjoy!

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