Houston, You DON’T Have A Problem: A Final Four Recap

Houston, You DON'T Have A Problem: A Final Four Recap.  It was an incredible evening of college basketball on Saturday night at NRG Stadium. Unfortunately, both Florida teams lost their respective semifinal matchups but the games proved very exciting nevertheless but in the end, UConn and San Diego State are moving on to the finals.

Miami was held to just 24 points in the 1st half, a season low for any half, and the Hurricanes were unable to recover.

A big reason why was the play of Adama Sanogo. The Huskies’ offense was much more efficient when Sanogo was involved offensively than when he wasn’t.

UConn improves to 20-0 when the junior forward hits the 20-point mark in his career.

Sanogo joins Emeka Okafor (2004 National Championship) as the only UConn players with 20 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks in a Final Four game.

Sanogo also…
Went 5-6 on contested shots, and 4-5 on open looks.
14 of his 21 points came in the paint.
Shot 7-8 on layups (Miami went 7-21 as a team).
Had 5 points on 2nd-chance opportunities.

It wasn’t just Sanogo in the paint for UConn, it was the entire team.

Miami had no answers down low, as the Hurricanes allowed the Huskies to shoot nearly 68% in the paint, while converting on just 40% themselves.

Miami was outscored 22-12 in the paint in the 2nd half alone.
10 of UConn’s FG in the paint were uncontested, while Miami only had 6 such makes.
The Hurricanes missed 15 layups and dunks to UConn’s 6.

It's been an amazing run for Miami head coach Jim Larranaga and his Hurricanes.  Last night was simply not their night.

As coach L. said after the game,  “Offensively we were out of sync, but defensively we were too.”  Miami fell behind by 10 early but rebounded to tie the game at 19 in the first half.

However, the Canes shot just 25% in the first half.  It was unbelievable to watch as so many of the shots they had were falling last week, didn't fall on Saturday night.

The Huskies then built a 20 point early second half lead and the Canes simply could not recover.  They did make a run and cut it to 8 and had possession, but didn't get closer.

The Canes finish their season at 29-8.  It was still a magical season and one most Hurricane fans like myself won't soon forget.

UConn opens as a 7-point favorite against San Diego State in the National Championship Game Monday.

The last team to win as a underdog of 7 or more in a National Championship Game? UConn in 1999.

Senior Matt Bradley got going early, scoring 11 quick 1st half points after scoring just 8 combined in his previous two games.

But it was the Aztecs’ bench that helped propel them in the 2nd half, when they outscored FAU’s bench 20-2.

San Diego State trailed for a majority of the game, necessitating a 14-point comeback, the 5th-largest in Final Four history.

Prior to the buzzer-beater last night in Houston, they hadn’t held a lead since the 7:25 mark in the 1st half.

San Diego State had struggled to hit mid-range shots all game… until Lamont Butler sealed it. Butler attempted just two shots in the 2nd half, including the game-winner.

Lamont Butler is the first player to score fewer than 10 points in an NCAA Tournament game in which he hit a buzzer-beater since Jordan Poole in 2018 for Michigan against Houston in the Round of 32.

Butler joins Lorenzo Charles as the only players to score fewer than 10 points while hitting a buzzer beater in a Final Four game. Charles had 4 points in the 1983 Championship Game.

San Diego State is seeking to become just the 2nd team over the last 50 years to win the national championship in its first Final Four appearance.

The only other team to accomplish that feat over this span? UConn in 1999.

Since the AP debuted the Preseason Poll in 1961-62, only 6 teams have won it all after being unranked to start the year.

Pete is at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City for the Miami Hurricanes magical run into the Elite 8. But let's not forget that it was an amazing day for both Miami Hurricanes teams. The Miami women’s team defeated No. 4 Villanova 70-65 on Friday. That evening, the men trounced Houston, the No.1 seed in the Midwest region, by a score of 89-75. Now both teams have advanced to the field of 8.

Pete's out scoring some of that magical Kansas City BBQ and won't be reporting on the games until he gets back. He did, however, send us some pictures and videos of his adventures in KC. Let's start with the winning moment when the clock went to zero.

Wile Pete was in Kansas City, I watched the game from Nino's. Had some delicious pizza with friends and somehow went down a path of Don Julio margaritas. Good thing Miami was the early game.

So let's get to the pictures from the T-Mobile Center. The first one is with  Joe Zagacki (Canes longtime PBP voice) and Miami legend. He has called 5 Football National Championships and the only ACC Basketball Championship in Miami history. Along with Pete's pics, Gregory Shamus of Getty Images was on hand (and had a much closer view to the action). We'll include some of Gregory's pictures as well.

This first photo has a story. I'll let Pete tell that when he gets back.