HOUSTON — ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!
Sorry, I couldn’t resist leading off with that sentence. Not after what happened in the opening game of the Final Four on Saturday.
Trailing 71-70, Brian Dutcher elected to play it out, to rely on his defense with just over a six-second difference between the shot clock and the game clock. On a night in which Florida Atlantic seemed to have the answer every time, the Aztecs got the stop they needed. Seconds later, Lamont Butler became an NCAA Tournament legend.
[Final Four highlights: San Diego State stuns FAU at the buzzer]
The junior tried to attack, was stopped in his tracks, and buried a 15-foot game-winner at the horn to send San Diego State to the national championship game for the first time in program history — and break the hearts of the Owls, 72-71.
Before examining anything else on the instant classic finish, here’s what needs to be said: San Diego State and Florida Atlantic just reminded the entire sports world and beyond why the NCAA Tournament is the best annual sporting event on the planet. Off brands? No blue bloods? Lack of NBA buzz? We all know about the talk entering with the lack of juice entering the matchup.
One buzzer-beater shot just made the Aztecs the story of the sports world, and produced the greatest form of reality TV one could ask for.
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As for the game, the last 10 minutes were far from pretty. With a total of 23 fouls called in the second half, it was a free-throw fest as San Diego State was in the penalty with over 14 minutes on the clock.
But the Aztecs came back from a 54-40 deficit, clawing from behind with Matt Bradley and Micah Parrish hitting triples and leading SDSU on an 18-6 run to cut the edge to 60-58 with 9:05 to play.
But FAU, which saw its magical season end at 35-4 in the heartbreaker, had a counter time and again behind Alijah Martin. After the junior led the Owls past Kansas State in the Elite Eight with 17 points, he scored 19 of his 26 in the second half, including a clutch reverse bucket in the final minute to put the Owls up by three.
How did SDSU stay within striking distance to have a shot to win it at the end?
With the player who Butcher pinpointed earlier this season as the reason why he felt this San Diego State team could be special: TCU transfer Jaedon LeDee.
After a rough first half, the senior found his shot at a time when the Aztecs absolutely needed something from somebody, scoring nine of his 12 points in the final nine minutes. LeDee’s ability to hit tough 2s from 12-15 feet out proved to be massive down the stretch, as he hit a contested shot with 36 seconds left to cut the Owls’ lead to 71-70.
You can’t tell the story of the game without Bradley, who really kept the Aztecs in the game with a breakout performance after shooting 3-for-17 in his two games prior. The senior, who had not hit a triple in three games, knocked down four on Saturday and finished with 21 points.
But the story of this game is Butler, who is no stranger to clutch moments for the Aztecs. In fact, he booked a Mountain West regular season championship with a cold-blooded 3 at The Pit to beat New Mexico back in February.
Sure, this was another level on Saturday night, coming inside a 72,000-seat football stadium in the Final Four, but you would not have known it. Dutcher’s team, sitting at 108-22 in the last four years, put to bed any inkling of disrespect remaining.
The year of the Aztec rolls on, and in Houston .. .well, there’s a bit of a trend in this tournament. The last two Final Four games in the city have ended in buzzer-beater fashion.
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.
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