In the opening match of the Final Four San Diego State guard Lamont Butler buzzer-beating corner shot ended Owls’ fairy tale run with a heartbreaking 72-71 loss and put San Diego State into its first national championship game here on Monday night against UConn.
It is the first time Aztecs have reached the final of NCAA March Madness men’s Tournament. San Diego state had advanced only till Sweet 16 in their previous appearances for the March Madness tournament.
At one point, Aztecs was trailing by 14 points in the second half due to the technical foul which turned into a five-point play for the Owls. If you thought it was over, you haven’t been watching this team. The Aztecs came back from nine down in the second half to beat No. 1 overall seed Alabama in the Sweet 16. And they did it again on Saturday, As a furious San Diego State leveled the score with four minutes to go.
San Deigo State didn’t lead Florida Atlantic in the second half until FAU’s Johnell Davis missed a layup on the previous possession, SDSU senior Nathan Mensah grabbed the defensive rebound, the Aztecs raced up the court and Butler’s 14-footer from the right wing corner shot was released with 0.6 seconds left and sending the Aztecs past Florida Atlantic 72-71 and into Monday’s national championship title game against UConn.
The jubilant Aztecs piled on each other as the Owls watched in disbelief. Players charged onto the court and jumped on Lamont Butler, first Aguek Arop, then Darrion Trammell, then Elijah Saunders off the bench.
“We found a way, and Lamont found a way to send us to the next round, We’re proud to be moving on, representing San Diego State and the city of San Diego on Monday night.” Brian Dutcher said.
The Aztecs were led by Matt Bradley, who had struggled last week. In games against Alabama and Creighton as he only scored a total of 8 points. But in Final Four game against FAU he scored 21 with 6 rebounds. While Houston native Jaedon LeDee scored 12 points with 6 rebounds.
FAU was led by Alijah Martin who had scored 26 points and 7 rebounds. While Freshman Nick Boyd had scored 12 points on 4-8 shooting.
Butler said he was told to “go downhill” — to the rim — but was blocked. He found a shot he was comfortable with, a midrange jumper, and hit it.
“I’m just so happy that we’re in this position and have a chance to win a national championship,” Butler said.
No.5 seed Aztecs will now face No.4 seed UConn, which defeated Miami Hurricanes 72-59 and rolls to the National Championship Game with Dominant Win. It will be a litmus test for Aztecs as UConn has beaten every opponent in this season NCAA March Madness tournament by at least 13 points, and hasn’t scored less than 70 points in all 5 tournament games.
The 2023 championship game is now all set. Game time is Monday at 9:20 p.m. ET from Houston’s NRG Stadium. The Final match will stream on March Madness live and will also televise on CBS
| Team | 1st Half | 2nd Half | Final Score |
| San Diego State Aztecs (32-6) | 33 | 39 | 72 |
| Florida Atlantic Owls (35-4) | 40 | 31 | 71 |