San Diego State and Florida Atlantic always felt like an incredibly odd and unlikely matchup in the Final Four of the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament, but fans had reason to believe this would be a great game. The FAU Owls weren’t exactly a Cinderella despite being a No. 9 seed, but had been winning by tight margins throughout their March Madness run. San Diego State rode one of the country’s best defenses to a national semifinal berth, but needed a controversial but correct call to win their Elite Eight game vs. Creighton.
Lamont Butler hits Final Four buzzer-beater to push San Diego State over Florida Atlantic
San Diego State took their only lead of the second half at the buzzer.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
The Aztecs vs. the Owls lived up to the hype. The game came down to the final possession, and SDSU junior guard Lamont Butler turned into the hero. Up one with 10 seconds left, FAU missed a layup and gave the Aztecs one last chance for the win. Butler came down the right side of the floor, and hit a pull-up jumper at the buzzer to give San Diego State a 72-71 win over Florida Atlantic that advances the Aztecs to the national championship game for the first time in program history.
Watch Butler’s game-winning shot here:
Here’s a courtside view of the game-winner from reporter John Fanta:
How often do you see a true buzzer-beater in the Final Four? What a moment for San Diego State. It’s just heartbreaking for FAU.
It was pure jubilation from SDSU on the court.
Broadcaster Charles Barkley couldn’t believe the shot:
Here’s a photo of the game-winning shot, via Getty Images:
No team had ever won an Elite Eight and Final Four game by one point, until now.
Butler’s shot gave San Diego State its only lead of the second half. Florida Atlantic led by as many as 14 points earlier in the game. Unbelievable.
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