The field of 64 has now been dwindled to four teams. The NCAA men’s college basketball tournament enters its final leg when the Final Four tips off Saturday in Minneapolis. Two of the teams are making their first ever trip to the Final Four. Below are the matchups and the schedule for Saturday:
#5 Auburn (30-9) vs #1 Virginia (33-3) Saturday 4/6 6:09 pm- The Auburn Tigers are the hottest team left in the field winning their last 12 games consecutively, and haven’t lost since an 80-53 setback to Kentucky back on 2/23. Auburn got revenge on the Wildcats however, topping them 77-71 Sunday in overtime in the Midwest Regional Final. The Tigers have beaten New Mexico State, Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky thus far in the tournament to advance to Minneapolis. This is the furthest point Auburn has been in school history. The last time they played in an Elite 8 game before Sunday was 1986. The South champion Virginia Cavaliers is the opponent. Virginia, who was the first #1 seed to lose in the tournament to a #16 seed in falling to UMBC in the first round last season, has won 13 of their last 14 games they have played including an exciting overtime win over Purdue in the South Regional Final Saturday night. They are appearing in the Final Four for the first time since 1984, and for head coach Tony Bennett it is his first trip to the Final Four as well. UVA has beaten Gardner-Webb, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Purdue to advance to the national semifinals.
#3 Texas Tech (30-6) vs #2 Michigan State (32-6) Saturday 4/6 8:49 pm- Like the Auburn Tigers, the Texas Tech Red Raiders out of the Big 12 is also making their first trip to the Final Four. The Red Raiders own the #1 defensive team in efficiency in the country, and have had impressive wins in the big dance over Northern Kentucky, Buffalo, Michigan, and then Sunday knocked off the high powered Gonzaga Bulldogs in the West Regional Final 85-79. Texas Tech has won their tournament games by an average of 15 points, and are now in the Final Four after losing last years East Regional Final to eventual National Champion Villanova in the Elite 8. The Big 10 champions from Michigan State will be the opponent on Saturday. The Spartans have won nine games in a row with tournament wins over Bradley, Minnesota, LSU, and Sunday took down the overall #1 seed of the entire tournament Duke 68-67 in the East Regional Final. Head coach Tom Izzo is in his 23rd year as the bench boss for MSU, and is leading the Spartans into their eighth Final Four since he took over in 1995. Izzo owns a 3-5 record with Michigan State in Final Four games, winning a National Championship in 2000 over Florida and also losing in the title game in 2009 to North Carolina.
The two National Semifinal winners will then meet on Monday night 4/8 with a time to be determined to see who will cut down the nets as national champions for the 2018-19 season. Tomorrow we will also set a preview for the women’s college basketball Final Four in Tampa that starts on Friday.
