Aztecs at the Horn 🚨

04/03/2023 Aztecs at the Horn 🚨

By: Jeff Yoder

LaMont Butler Punches SDSU’s Ticket With Game-Winner to Join Dominant UConn in Title Game

Hysteria in Houston! The Men’s Final Four Saturday featured a wild finish that will live in NCAA Tournament lore as San Diego State beat FAU on a buzzer-beater and UConn topped Miami with another walkover. It’s the Aztecs and Huskies — Mountain West vs. Big East — tomorrow night for the NCAA crown. Both teams scored 72 in the semifinal. Is that a recipe for a good game in the final? The finality of the madness is upon us. Here’s what happened in last night’s semifinals.

 

Final Four Highlights

 

#5 San Diego State def. #9 Florida Atlantic (72-71)

One for the record books! Florida Atlantic and San Diego State delivered an instant classic in Saturday’s opener. FAU overcame early struggles to take a double-digit lead early in the second half after Alijah Martin (26 points) caught fire, but SDSU wouldn’t go down easy. The Aztecs scrapped back thanks to eight offensive rebounds in a two-minute span that erased the deficit. Trailing by one in the final seconds (70-71), SDSU got a stop on the final possession and got it to LaMont Butler who pushed it in transition and pulled up for the dagger (72-71). Butler’s 15-footer from the right wing will live in Final Four infamy. SDSU’s 14-point comeback was the fifth-largest in Final Four history. Matt Bradley led the Aztecs with 21 points and six rebounds, and Brian Dutcher’s SDSU squad gets UConn in their first-ever NCAA title game.

 

#4 UConn def. #5 Miami (72-59)

The title favorites keep rolling! UConn opened a portal to another level of basketball once again in the Final Four. The Huskies — who beat their first four opponents by an average of 22.5 points per game — jumped on Miami with a 9-0 start and never looked back. The Hurricanes punched back throughout, but nothing, and no one has found the antidote for UConn’s firepower. Adama Sanogo (21 points, 10 rebounds) had a double-double while shooting 81 percent. Jordan Hawkins added 13 and Andre Jackson Jr. slammed home a pair of alley-oop exclamation points to end Miami’s run. Connecticut has beaten all five opponents by double digits, and they’ve now won 11 consecutive NCAA Tournament games in the second or third weekends — Sweet 16 or later. Dan Hurley’s squad will be the clear favorite on Monday night against SDSU.

 

Men’s NCAA National Championship

#4 UConn vs. #5 San Diego State (Tonight, 9:20 pm ET)

 

Additional Storylines

B/R: 2023 Men’s Final Four: The New Standard of Parity or Once-in-a-Lifetime Seed Medley?

SI: SDSU’s Brian Dutcher Explains Why He Didn’t Call Timeout Before Buzzer-Beater

USA Today: Final Four Recap: UConn Continues March Domination, Gets SDSU for Title

 

Photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images