San Diego State had a last minute win to make it to the title game
The Aztecs Get Their First National Championship Game: A Jumper-Beating Sacramento State Attempt to Snap a Pentaquark
Butler hit a buzzer-beating jumper for the ages, sending San Diego State to its first national championship game with a 72-71 win over fellow mid-major Florida Atlantic in the Final Four on Saturday night.
“I didn’t really know how big it was,” Butler said after his calm reaction to one of the greatest shots in NCAA Tournament history. “We’re going to the national championship. That’s not things many people do.”
Once the NCAA Tournament started, the Aztecs ramped up their defense even more, holding their first four opponents to an average of 57 points per game and 17% shooting from the 3-point arc.
The swaggy Owls (35-4) seemed to have solved San Diego State’s vaunted defense, using constant movement and ball reversals to create mismatches they could exploit.
When FAU’s Johnell Davis missed a contested layup, San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher opted to not call timeout, joking that he didn’t have any plays left.
The clock was close to zero and Butler dribbled to the baseline. He jumped back to create a little space and hit a jumper that sent the Aztecs racing out onto the floor and caught the attention of the Padres fans.
Mountain West’s first NCAA Final Four: A Game and a Coach’s Implications for the University Aztecs’ national title game
Next up for the Mountain West’s first Final Four team is a chance to win the conference’s first national title Monday night against UConn, which advanced with a 72-59 win against Miami.
“We’ve always been knocked down,” said San Diego State’s Matt Bradley, who had 21 points after struggling in the previous three games. “The biggest thing we always do is get back up and keep fighting.”
Since Brian Dutcher took over, San Diego State had been on the right track. Dutcher followed the mold created by Fisher and added a lot of bad news to the defense.
The Owls hit 5 of 11 from the 3-point range in the first half and led 40-33 after two quarters.
“They went on a run, getting extra possessions and hitting early 3s,” said FAU’s Nick Boyd, who finished with 12 points. “That was really the turning point of the game.”
FAU held San Diego State to just 38.6 per cent shooting in the second half thanks to Alijah Martin, who scored 19 of his 26 points in the second half.
The men’s NCAA basketball championship game is set: The San Diego State University Aztecs are up against the University of Connecticut Huskies for the national title.
The higher-ranked team has a reason. A six-game losing skid put the 4th seed at the bottom of the pack in the first half of the season. The coach attributed the lack of production to weak defense and lost his zen over his row with referees.
