No. 9 Florida Atlantic takes down No. 3 Kansas State to reach 1st Final 4
UConn routs Gonzaga to book 1st trip to Final 4 since 2014
Alijah Martin, Vlad Goldin and ninth-seeded Florida Atlantic became the first and lowest-seeded team to reach this year's Final Four as the Owls withstood another huge game by Kansas State's Markquis Nowell to beat the Wildcats 79-76 on Saturday night in New York City.
FAU (35-3), making just its second appearance in the NCAA tournament, won the East Region at Madison Square Garden and will head to Houston to play the winner of Sunday's South Region final between Creighton and San Diego State.
THE SLIPPER STILL FITS 🦉<a href="https://twitter.com/FAUMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FAUMBB</a> IS HEADED TO THE FINAL FOUR 🔥<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarchMadness</a> <a href="https://t.co/UdXbmj9NwG">pic.twitter.com/UdXbmj9NwG</a>
—@MarchMadnessMBBThe winningest team in Division I this season had never won an NCAA tournament game before ripping off four straight, all by single digits, to become the first No. 9 seed to reach the Final Four since Wichita State in 2013 and the third to get that far since seeding began in 1979.
Martin scored 17 points, including a huge 3 down the stretch, the seven-foot-one Goldin had 14 points and 13 rebounds, and Michael Forrest made four clutch free throws in the final 20 seconds for the Owls.
Nae'Qwan Tomlin was the only other player in double figures for Kansas State (26-10) with 14 points.
UConn cruises past Gonzaga
Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points and UConn blew past its fourth straight NCAA Tournament opponent, earning its first trip to the Final Four in nine years with an 82-54 blowout of Gonzaga on Saturday night.
The Huskies (29-8) have felt right at home in their first extended March Madness run since winning the 2014 national championship, playing their best basketball of what had been an up-and-down season.
UConn controlled the usually efficient Bulldogs at both ends in the West Region final, building a 23-point lead early in the second half to waltz right into the final section of the bracket.
The Huskies' two NCAA Tournament first-round exits under coach Dan Hurley are now well in the rearview mirror.
These elite Huskies did what the UConn women couldn't for once and are headed to Houston, where they will play either Texas or Miami.
EMPHATIC VICTORY FOR THE HUSKIES 🐺<a href="https://twitter.com/UConnMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@UConnMBB</a> is headed to the Final Four!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MarchMadness?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MarchMadness</a> <a href="https://t.co/Z0aYXu1ZnN">pic.twitter.com/Z0aYXu1ZnN</a>
—@MarchMadnessMBBThe Bulldogs (31-6) didn't have the same second-half magic they had in a last-second win over UCLA in the Elite Eight.
Gonzaga allowed UConn to go on a late run to lead by seven at halftime and fell completely apart after All-American Drew Timme went to the bench with his fourth foul early in the second half.
