The transfer portal, an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19, and the implementation of NIL.

There are many reasons why this season of college basketball is one of the most unpredictable in recent memory. That also makes it extremely fitting that the Final Four for the 2023 NCAA Tournament is arguably the craziest since the event expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

The dust has cleared following the Elite Eight, and all that remains is the incredibly random quartet of UConn, Miami, San Diego State, and Florida Atlantic. Only 37 brackets out of 20 million entered in the ESPN Tournament Challenge predicted this Final Four, according to ESPN.

Here are five reasons why this year's Final Four is the craziest in tourney history.

FAU vs. San Diego State almost unprecedented

While Miami and UConn are mild surprises on one side of the bracket, the Final Four contest between FAU and San Diego State is virtually unprecedented. The No. 9 Owls began this year's March Madness with an all-time record of 0-1 in the tournament and now enter the Final Four with the best winning percentage in tournament history at .800. The matchup with the Aztecs is just the second-ever in the Final Four to not feature at least one major conference school.

The schools are also both making their debut trip to the Final Four, a matchup that's only happened twice in the last 50 years of the NCAA Tournament.

Should both FAU and Miami win their games on Saturday, the two programs would then play in a historic final due to proximity. With just 57 miles separating the two campuses in South Florida, they would be the closest schools ever to meet in the national championship game.

Preseason polls got it wrong

Creighton's loss to San Diego State meant that no teams ranked in the top 10 of the AP Preseason Top 25 poll would make the Final Four. It's just the third time that's happened since the poll began in 1961.