Officials revealed for Final Four matchups

The Final Four gets underway Saturday night as the the last four teams in the NCAA Tournament compete for a spot in the national championship. We now know who’ll be officiating the games.

John Higgins, Bert Smith and Kipp Kissinger will be the referees for the first game of the night between Florida Atlantic and San Diego State, Stadium’s Jeff Goodman reported. In the nightcap between Miami and UConn, the officials will be Roger Ayers, Doug Sirmons and Jeffrey Anderson, according to Goodman.

It’s an interesting field for the Final Four — the first installment without any No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 seeds. UConn is the highest seed remaining at No. 4, followed by Miami as a No. 5. San Diego State is also a No. 5 seed while FAU, although reiterating its desire to not be called a Cinderella, is a No. 9 seed.

FAU vs. San Diego State will kick things off at 6:09 p.m. ET and Miami vs. UConn will follow at 8:50 p.m. ET. Both games will be broadcast on CBS.

One of the biggest storylines to watch heading into Saturday’s slate of games from Houston is the health of UConn star Jordan Hawkins. He reportedly missed practice Friday with a non-COVID illness, throwing his status into question for Saturday’s matchup. However, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander, the expectation is Hawkins will be in the starting lineup for the Huskies as they chase a national championship appearance.

“UConn’s Jordan Hawkins is ‘a go’ to play tonight, source reiterates to CBS Sports — and he will be in the starting lineup, barring any late change,” Norlander tweeted Saturday. “Hawkins’ shooting ability is a key component for UConn tonight against Miami.”

Hawkins is a key piece for the UConn offense this year. He’s averaging 16.3 points per game, which ranks second on the team only to Adama Sanogo, while shooting 40.7% from the field and 38.5% from three-point territory. Last year, he averaged just 5.8 points per game in 27 games, including four starts.

As far as what changed from last year to this season, Hawkins said it was simple. He changed his approach, and it led him to be more aggressive.

“I think my mentality changed completely,” Hawkins said. “I feel like I had the skill to do what I can do now last year, but my mental wasn’t all the way there with my game. I think that was the biggest thing that changed.”