The underdogs of the Final Four — the No. 9 Florida Atlantic Owls — have won over the US with 20 states backing them to win a national championship.
AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
The Final Four is upon us.
Four squads few expected to punch their tickets to Houston — the No. 4 UConn Huskies, No. 5 Miami Hurricanes, No. 5 San Diego Aztecs, and No. 9 Florida Atlantic Owls — are the last teams standing after the thrills of March Madness took hold.
None of the latter three programs have ever made a Final Four appearance in the men's tournament. Now, they're facing off on college basketball's biggest stage with a chance to hoist the national championship trophy on Monday night.
But who is America backing in the bid to hang a banner?
Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
The team at betonline.ag sought to determine which team is getting the most love across the United States. Using geotagged Twitter data from more than 150,000 tweets featuring official fan hashtags and trends software analysis, they found that Florida Atlantic has drawn majority support from 20 states.
Unfortunately for the Hurricanes — who, like the Owls, call The Sunshine State home — Florida Atlantic won over locals as the biggest underdogs remaining in the tournament. Miami, however, managed to capture the hearts of fans in nearby South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana.
UConn — a top college basketball program that already has four national titles of its own — has enjoyed the second-most support among the Final Four squads. Most of the Northeast, including Connecticut, plus a smattering of Midwestern states count themselves among the 16 states backing the Huskies on the weekend.
AP Photo/John Locher
Unsurprisingly, San Diego State dominated its own coast. The Aztecs earned support from 11 states, including every single one west of Texas with the exceptions of Montana and Alaska.
Check out the full map below:
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