The Ultimate Spirit of March Madness Lives in Improbable, Glorious 2023 Final Four

This doesn't happen in reality.

We dream of Cinderella runs. We envision what it would take for our favorite team—or our latest bandwagon pick—to navigate the opening rounds of March Madness to upend a No. 1 seed and reach the Final Four. We picture that program celebrating an amazing national title.

But it doesn't actually happen.

No, the fantastic stories live in our imaginations. They only occur in driveways, where officials always manage to whistle game-changing fouls and clock operators occasionally forget how to do the most basic function of their job at the last second.

Nobody uses a stopwatch to check exactly how many tenths of a second have elapsed, either.

These improbable runs are the product of fake brackets that are conceived in schoolrooms or backyards. They are the result of daydreams and greatest wishes—and maybe a bit of delusion, too.

And they certainly don't happen simultaneously.

For one year, however—one wild, extraordinary year—we're watching fantasy become reality in March Madness.

Saturday night, Florida Atlantic punched its ticket to the Final Four with an exciting triumph over Kansas State. Forget that FAU had never advanced this far; no, the Owls arrived to the Big Dance this year with zero NCAA tournament wins in program history. And now they're headed to Houston with a shot at winning a national championship.

San Diego State and Miami followed suit on Sunday, pulling off epic victories over Creighton and Texas, respectively. They are Final Four-bound for the first time in school history, as well.

It's madness. Truly wonderful madness.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, not since 1970 have three programs made their Final Four debut in the same season. That year included just 25 teams. In other words, the 2023 tournament has no equal in the modern era—1985, when the field expanded to 64.

Back in 1979, the selection committee began assigning seeds to all teams. This is the first tournament in which the Final Four won't include a single top-three seed.

Without question, the parity of the sport is rising, and that's a great thing. Yet it would be unwise to crown the 2023 tournament as the moment that college basketball changed forever. It's more than likely that this is simply a lovable blip on the radar of long-established trends.

That expectation, though, is why I implore you to embrace the completely nonsensical Final Four of Florida Atlantic, San Diego State, Miami and—oh yeah—Connecticut.

Something similar might happen again, sure.

But it took an awfully long time for this to happen once. We could wait decades before it does again.

Florida Atlantic doesn't necessarily want to be called Cinderella, but the slipper has never found a better fit. The program from Conference USA entered this season with a single 20-win campaign in its history; FAU now enters the Final Four at 35-3 after defeating AAC tournament champion Memphis, Fairleigh Dickinson and top-four seeds Tennessee and K-State.

San Diego State toppled Charleston and Furman, then stunned top overall seed Alabama to seal the program's first-ever Elite Eight trip. Then, the Aztecs went one step further with a 57-56 win over Creighton, getting a little revenge for last year's tournament after the Bluejays bounced them in the first round.

Miami hadn't advanced to an Elite Eight until last season, and now the 'Canes are making history again. Best of all, they accomplished this on the 17th anniversary of head coach Jim Larrañaga leading his former team, George Mason, to the Final Four as a No. 11 seed in 2006.

And, again—it can hardly be said enough—the three unlikely programs are doing it together.

The combined seed total of the Final Four qualifiers is 23. That's the second-highest mark in tournament history, trailing only 26 in 2011.

However, that year included a seven-time NCAA champion (Kentucky), a two-time winner (UConn) and the previous season's runner-up (Butler) with one legitimate surprise (VCU). That group is hardly comparable to the now-four-time champ (UConn) and three debutants.

Your version of the "best" NCAA tournament might feature a 2008-like Final Four loaded with No. 1 seeds. But there is no denying that the 2023 edition of March Madness has locked up a place as one of the rowdiest years in the sport's postseason history.

Embrace the pandemonium. Visualize how it ends.

Pump up a basketball and rattle those rim-hanging chains. Envision that iconic scenario—down by one, clock running out.

Three...dribble past the nervous defender. Two...gather your feet and feel the leather on your fingertips. One...flick that decisive jumper as an awestruck crowd holds its collective breath.

(If necessary: Point-five... point-four... point-three...)

Bury that winning shot at the buzzer, and jump around like 75,000 people are watching. Pen that improbable champion on the imaginary bracket.

This time, though, celebrate with the assurance that your driveway dream isn't so far-fetched anymore.

FAU, SDSU and Miami, after all, are living it right now.