Tag: San Diego State Basketball

George Kliavkoff likely saw how San Diego State fans reacted to Final Four win

The @Padres put the #Aztecs on a Petco Park screen. Lamont Butler hit the big shot. San Diego fans went wild. #Pac12 #MFinalFour

The San Diego State Aztecs came back from a 14-point second-half deficit against Florida Atlantic to win the first of two Final Four national semifinals on Saturday in Houston. It wasn’t easy, but this team refused to go away once again.

The Aztecs, down by one point in the final 10 seconds with one timeout, did not call their timeout. They gave the ball to Lamont Butler, who hit the game-winning shot and made the biggest basket in the history of the program to send the Aztecs to the national title game on Monday against Connecticut.

The San Diego Padres also had a game on Saturday evening at Petco Park. The game was scheduled to begin at 5:40 p.m. local time, which figured to be just after the end of the SDSU Final Four game, which started at 3:09.

As it turned out, the first pitch of the Padre game and the end of the Aztec game were very close to each other. The San Diego State victory occurred just before the start of the Padres’ game versus the Colorado Rockies. The introductions for Colorado’s starting lineup were unfolding precisely when the Final Four game ended and San Diego State reached its first NCAA Tournament national championship game.

It was a wild scene at Petco Park in San Diego. The Padres made sure to show the last play on one of their video screens in the ballpark while the other screen displayed the Rockies’ batting order. The reactions and celebrations from the stadium show just what San Diego is about: a community backing its sports teams.

With Pac-12 expansion at the forefront of conversations and San Diego State being a realistic option for the conference, this helps a ton. The community backs the Aztecs and has supported the Aztecs for a long time, especially since Steve Fisher’s arrival and the resurgence of the basketball program nearly two decades ago.

If you’re siting in the Pac-12 office and you see this, it’s hard to ignore. It should definitely help San Diego State’s case in getting into the Pac-12 as an expansion candidate. Let’s see what happens.

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4 incredible radio calls of SDSU’s Lamont Butler Final Four buzzer-beater

“The Butler did it!”

Lamont Butler hit the shot of his life right at the buzzer in the first men’s Final Four game Saturday night.

The San Diego State guard was patient — though he almost stepped out of bounds — and his shot was perfect. It fell right at the buzzer and lifted his No. 5-seeded team to a 72-71 victory over No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic. It also ensured SDSU advanced to Monday’s national championship game, which is a first for this program.

While the shot stunned everyone from SDSU fans to Padres fans at Petco Park and even Miami players who were waiting to take on UConn in the second Final Four game, the radio calls of this moment were extra special.

Listen to how the Final Four game’s last seconds were called by four different radio broadcasters, including the calls from each school’s respective crews.

“The Butler did it!”

Luckily for Florida Atlantic radio broadcaster Ken LaVicka, it seems like he avoided the heart-stopping technical difficulties he experienced while calling the Owls’ Elite Eight victory last weekend.

San Diego State’s Lamont Butler narrowly avoided stepping out of bounds before his buzzer-beater

That buzzer-beater was *this* close to never happening.

The first game of the Final Four ended in a thrilling victory for San Diego State as Lamont Butler nailed a remarkable buzzer-beater.

After SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher opted not to use their final timeout, Butler was trusted to make the right play. The guard took the ball down the floor in transition, dribbled near the baseline, and showed stellar footwork as the clock continued ticking.

Butler very nearly stepped out of bounds once on the baseline and if he had moved his right foot an extra inch, SDSU’s season would have come to a sad close due to a turnover. Instead, he was able to make his way to the midrange and nail the shot.

This is one of those shots that will go down in the March Madness history books, but it’s even crazier when you realize that it nearly didn’t happen.

Take a look at this angle and you will see exactly how close it was:

My heart is pounding just looking at that video!

Congratulations to Butler on using all 94 feet of the court and all 50 feet of the baseline, because my goodness, that was a close call.

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SDSU coach Brian Dutcher explains why he didn’t call a timeout before amazing Final Four buzzer-beater

“I ran out of plays so I decided not to take a timeout.”

San Diego State had a timeout remaining as the clock neared an expiration, but Brian Dutcher trusted his players and didn’t use it.

After trailing Florida Atlantic by as many as 14 points earlier in the game, SDSU had a chance to secure the victory. SDSU big man Nathan Mensah grabbed a rebound following a missed shot by FAU, then Lamont Butler took the ball up the floor in transition.

Butler stepped up on the biggest stage and managed to take an incredibly impressive off-the-dribble jumper from midrange. The shot went in for a thrilling buzzer-beater, earning a trip to the national championship.

After the game, Dutcher was asked why he chose not to call a timeout and draw up a more intentional possession in a set offense.

Dutcher was perfectly candid about the decision to instead let everything just happen within the flow of the game:

Here was the full quote from Dutcher:

“I ran out of plays so I decided not to take a timeout. So Lamont said if we get the rebound, let’s get downhill, send all three bigs to the rim. He got downhill and made the play.”

SDSU was an average team when it came to their typical shot quality after a timeout, but they were also relatively inefficient in a transition offense during the tournament.

This decision was bold but brilliant and it worked like a charm.

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San Diego State’s Lamont Butler hit an absolutely stunning Final Four buzzer-beater

LAMONT BUTLER. SAN DIEGO STATE. ONIONS.

San Diego State junior guard Lamont Butler willed his team to the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament championship game with one of the best buzzer-beaters you’re likely to see this year.

As the seconds ticked down to zero, Butler got off the hero shot with his team down by a point to Florida Atlantic in the first Final Four game of the day.

The ball went right through the hoop as the buzzer sounded, helping cement the comeback victory for San Diego State.

SDSU players, coaches and fans immediately went wild as their team notched the game-winning basket in Houston, giving college basketball fans similar shades of the Kris Jenkins buzzer-beater that gave Villanova a national title in 2016.

That is exactly what March Madness is all about. Butler’s terrific bucket will be talked about by San Diego State fans for decades to come.

The team will move on to Monday’s championship game between the winner of Miami and Connecticut.

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ESPN’s Rece Davis had a hilariously awkward interview with Carrot Top about Florida Atlantic in the Final Four

Did you know Carrot Top went to Florida Atlantic? Well, you will now!

If you’re wondering exactly how prop comedian Scott “Carrot Top” Thompson found his way onto ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday, you’re not alone.

Ahead of a show in Las Vegas, Carrot Top joined College GameDay host Rece Davis to discuss the comedian’s status as a proud Florida Atlantic alumnus.

Indeed, Carrot Top is cheering on his Owls as they prepare for Saturday’s 2023 men’s NCAA tournament Final Four battle with San Diego State for a spot in Monday’s national title game.

However, the interview went a bit off the rails without anyone really trying for it to, with some sort of transmission delay clashing with Carrot Top’s endearingly awkward energy and Davis’ laser-focused broadcaster persona.

Carrot Top does get one really good joke in, saying his alma mater was sarcastically called “Find Another University” while he was there.

Davis asked how Carrot Top was going to watch Saturday’s big FAU game since the comedian was set to perform in Vegas, and the latter’s solution was going to be to record the game, if you were curious.

If you’re going to have a perfectly pleasant interview with a celebrity that also ramp up the cringe levels past infinity, you could do a lot worse than Davis does here.

Kudos to Carrot Top for cheering on his old college, and kudos to them both for finding a way through this hilariously awkward encounter.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

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One thing seems clear: San Diego State is becoming another Gonzaga

While we sort out whether the #Aztecs will join the #Pac12 (which seems likely), it’s clear they have transcended mid-major status.

There is no official announcement or formal ceremony for any of this, but it’s true that at some point in time, a college sports program transcends its status and its larger place in the ecosystem. At some point in time, Gonzaga ceased to be a mid-major program despite competing in the West Coast Conference, a mid-major league. Gonzaga’s results, quality and visibility gave the school a profile and resource base which exceeded the rest of the competition. The WCC might not be a dominant conference, but Gonzaga stood apart. That same reality applies to San Diego State after the Aztecs reached their first Final Four on Sunday.

SDSU, located in sunny and agreeable San Diego, was already an attractive place to attend college, but now this Final Four is likely to boost admissions and improve the various aspects of a university which go beyond sports themselves. Gonzaga experienced this boost once the basketball program attained a certain degree of sustained success.

San Diego State invested a lot of money into improving facilities, including the building of an on-campus football stadium to replace its previous and longstanding arrangement as a tenant for the old (now demolished) Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium which used to be the home for the NFL Chargers and MLB Padres.

San Diego State, one would think, will be able to enter the NIL space as a legitimate competitor. One of the other teams in the 2023 Final Four, Miami, used NIL to form a part of its breakthrough roster this season.

The Mountain West didn’t win a single game in last year’s NCAA Tournament, and the other three teams in this year’s tournament didn’t win a game. San Diego State transcended all that.

SDSU is not yet a Pac-12 member, but it already seems clear the Aztecs have transcended mid-major status even while they remain in the Mountain West.

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San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher did a celebratory trust fall after punching ticket to Final Four

When you’re a coach and you make the Final Four, you do a trust fall into the arms of your players.

After his team punched a ticket to the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament Final Four, San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher decided to put ultimate faith in his guys yet again.

This time, it came on a trust fall after cutting down the nets for winning the South Region.

Indeed, Dutcher’s SDSU topped Creighton, 57-56, in Sunday’s Elite Eight game to grab one of the spots in this year’s Final Four.

It’s the school’s very first Final Four appearance, one that came with plenty of drama during its nail-biting finish.

Dutcher trusted his team to close things out when the game went down to the wire, and he trusted his players to catch him as he fell into their arms off the ladder he went up to cut down the net.

Dutcher threw his hands up and fell backwards into the arms of his players, who caught their coach and cheered their coach on during the postgame celebration.

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Men’s NCAA tournament history repeats with two mid-majors, UConn set for Final Four in Houston

Two mid-majors playing in the Final Four in Houston. UConn also competing for a title. Is this 2023 or 2011??

One of the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament Final Four matchups is set in stone, and it’s the round’s first battle of non-major conferences since 2011.

No. 9 Florida Atlantic and No. 5 San Diego State are now set to square off in the Final Four of this year’s tournament. They’ll join Butler and VCU as the only other two mid-major teams to ever battle in March Madness’ last weekend.

Funny enough, that Butler/VCU matchup in 2011 was in Houston, Texas, and the winner of that game went on to face Connecticut.

Twelve years later, we’ve got a Final Four in Houston with two mid-major teams squaring off on one side of the bracket and Connecticut playing on the other side.

History might fully repeat itself in the most fascinating way if UConn wins the whole thing. It already is repeating itself with a few key parts.

We’ll see who else will join FAU, SDSU and UConn in the 2023 Final Four once we know the outcome of Texas/Miami.

UConn played Kentucky in its 2011 Final Four game, and the Huskies will get to play a Power Five team in Texas or Miami.

History really does repeat itself.

Brothers Adam Seiko and Arthur Kaluma shared a sweet hug after San Diego State topped Creighton in the Elite Eight

San Diego State’s Adam Seiko and Creighton’s Arthur Kaluma shared a sweet hug after the Elite Eight game.

San Diego State senior guard Adam Seiko and Creighton sophomore guard Arthur Kaluma shared a hug after a hard-fought Elite Eight game between their two teams.

The two siblings have now faced off in two March Madness games, but Seiko’s team defeating Kaluma’s team this year didn’t stop a really sweet moment of brotherly love after the contest.

Seiko’s San Diego State topped Kaluma’s Creighton, 57-56, on Sunday with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

It’s the first time in SDSU history that the school has made the prestigious final ranking of men’s NCAA tournament teams.

However, family always comes first, as Seiko and Kaluma didn’t miss out an opportunity to support each other after the final horn.

That’s a really cool moment between two siblings and excellent college basketball players who found themselves in quite a moment.

After Kaluma’s Creighton got to advance past Seiko’s SDSU last year in the tournament’s first round, it’s now Seiko’s turn to have Kaluma cheering him on in the stands.

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