2023 Final Four highlights: SDSU stuns FAU at buzzer to reach title game

By Bryan Fischer
Updated Apr 1, 2023 11:08 pm ET

No. 5 San Diego State clawed back from a 14-point deficit to end No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic's Cinderella run with an incredible buzzer-beating shot by Lamont Butler.

SDSU advanced to the national title game with Saturday's 72-71 win.

SDSU becomes the first Mountain West team to ever make the national championship game and the fourth 5-seed to make the national championship since seeding began in 1979. The Aztecs are also the first team from California to make it to the national championship since 2006. Teams seeded ninth or lower (FAU) are now 0-9 all-time in the Final Four.

Catch up with the top highlights and in-game analysis from FOX Sports' Bryan Fischer below.

No. 5 San Diego State 72, No. 9 Florida Atlantic 71

>>> SECOND-HALF UPDATES

0:01 - LAMONT BUTLER! What a second heaping of onions at the buzzer, as the guard wins it for SDSU. Credit to head coach Brian Dutcher, who drew up a great defense to prevent FAU’s Johnell Davis’s runner and then didn’t use his final timeout, allowing Butler to hit a shot from the corner to cap off the fifth-biggest comeback ever in the Final Four. Incredible.

Butler's buzzer-beater was the fifth-ever game-winner in Final Four history but is the first in Final Four history in which the team was trailing before the shot.

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0:38 - SDSU's Jaedon LeDee responds to an incredible FAU bucket, and just like that, it's back to a one-point game.

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0:41 - Goodness is Alijah Martin having a night to remember. A twisting layup under the basket gives him a game-high 26 and helps stretch FAU’s lead to three with just 41 seconds left.

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0:57 - After a crisp first 35 minutes, things have, uh, devolved into a rock fight down the stretch. FAU hasn’t made anything from the field in the last three minutes (combined with three turnovers) and yet maintain a narrow one-point lead because SDSU is just two of its last 11. The Aztecs aren’t even taking advantage when they get to the line either, shooting 59% from the line in a close game. It sure hasn’t been pretty, but hey, the drama has been off the charts as we’re under a minute away from seeing who makes it to the national title game.

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1:06 - It's a one-point game, 69-68, with just over a minute remaining. SDSU has erased a 14-point deficit to make it anyone's game late in the second half.

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3:14 - Take note of that key foul call (which looked quite questionable) with 4:43 left against FAU big man Vladislav Goldin for his fourth. Not only did it allow Aguek Arop to hit a free throw to cut into the lead, but it could further help SDSU’s ability to wither this 2-of-10 shooting stretch based on its ability to secure offensive rebounds — an impressive eight in the past few minutes of action alone. 

Buckle up, because we’ve got quite the game going on with a two-point margin and both sides trying to stay on their feet despite haymakers being thrown on each trip down the floor.

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4:03 - The tie was short-lived, as FAU quickly regained the lead, 67-65.

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4:26 - SDSU, which trailed by 14, knots things up 65-65, thanks to this smooth jumper from Aztecs forward Arop.

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7:15 - Matt Bradley keyed this 18-9 run by SDSU that has allowed them to cut it to five with just over seven to play. The guard has missed just once from the field in the second half and has a team-high 19 points, including five critical free throws. While FAU has knocked down a couple of 3s and continue to maintain the advantage on the glass, this one is getting tight down in Houston.

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8:54 - Martin's dunk got the FAU bench fired up, as the Owls put an abrupt end to the Aztecs' 7-0 run midway through the frame. Martin followed that up with this shot from downtown to keep the Owls out front, 65-60.

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10:21 - Bradley, who had been quiet in the second half thus far, made a splash for the Aztecs with a clutch 3 to provide a much-needed spark for SDSU.

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12:36 - All that praise for SDSU’s Bradley early on faded quite a bit. He scored a quick 11 points in the first six minutes but had been without a bucket until knocking down some free throws just before the under-12 timeout. This is not an Aztecs squad that has the kind of shooting to come back from big deficits, so getting Bradley going and keeping this to single digits by the next break will be key if the MWC’s best wants to play Monday.

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14:58 - The Aztecs were feeling some type of way about how things were going, as SDSU guard Micah Parrish drew a dead-ball technical foul. FAU's Alijah Martin makes both at the line to stretch the lead back up to 11, the Owls' largest lead of the night.

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15:56 - FAU has stretched its lead to double-digits to start the second half and has done so with an interesting adjustment of getting into the paint more. Only one make, but five shots in the lane heading into the under-16 media timeout (to go with a pair of triples, too). The Owls are continuing to outrebound SDSU and seem to be making much more of an effort to get to the line. Coach Dusty May has earned a ton of kudos for leading this run but his in-game adjustments have really stood out.

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16:29 - The Owls are keeping their foot on the gas early in the second half, draining one clutch bucket after another.

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17:47 - The Owls are firing on all cylinders as the second half gets underway, keeping the Aztecs at arm's length.

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>>> HALFTIME ANALYSIS: FAU 40, SDSU 33

FAU hits halftime up 40-33 after really dialing in on both ends of the court down the stretch (14-9 run to end the half dating back to the under eight timeout).

The Owls turned it over just three times in the first 20 minutes and shot 43% from 3 against one of the best teams in the country at defending beyond the arc. Maybe the most impressive part is that they did so with nine different scorers and saw their two key guys that got them to Houston — Davis and Goldin — combine for just eight points, one rebound and one assist. That's the definition of a team effort to bring them to within a half of the national title game.

As for San Diego State, if you had told the Aztecs that they would shoot 5-of-11 from 3 and commit just five turnovers, they probably would have told you they would be running away with the game going into the break. That hasn’t been the case, mainly because their most reliable asset — their defense — has been a little slow to react to FAU’s perimeter screens and quick ball movement.

They’ve done all the fundamentals well and got back into things with a couple of late buckets, but the Aztecs know they have to come out with a fury down the stretch like they have in the second half of all their previous four tournament games.

HALFTIME STAT TO KNOW

Heading into Saturday's game, FAU is 27-1 this season when leading at halftime. San Diego State is 7-2 when trailing at halftime, the third-best record in Division I this season. Entering today, the Aztecs have won five straight games when trailing at halftime, including their Elite Eight win over Creighton.

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>>> FIRST-HALF UPDATES

0:39 - FAU was able to keep SDSU at bay in the frame's final moments and took a 40-33 lead into halftime. 

However, it was the Aztecs' Bradley who led all scorers with 11 first-half points.

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2:29 - The Owls continue to pour it on, grabbing a double-digit lead, 38-28, with less than three minutes to play before the break.

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3:04 - We’ve hit the under four and FAU is on a 10-2 to push their lead to eight points. Love what the Owls are doing offensively, flummoxing SDSU with some of their ball screens and hitting six triples against a team that had just allowed 16 coming into tonight’s game. The Aztecs can make adjustments defensively though, especially as it doesn’t seem like coach Dutcher doesn’t quite seem to have his rotation dialed in with his second unit. (The team rolls so deep, a hockey change isn’t unexpected in this one.) The flip side is that the veteran head coach would take 46% shooting all day, especially given how many of the shots have been easy looks inside the lane (just nine shots outside the paint).

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3:36 - A 10-2 run from the Owls forces an Aztec timeout with 3:30 left in the half, as FAU holds a 36-28 edge.

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6:40 - Talk about a game of runs. This is becoming quite the fun back-and-forth as FAU-SDSU rolls into a media timeout tied at 26. Both teams are shooting 50% or better from the field, so there aren’t many nerves at play. The thing that sticks out to me is that both teams are also completely even on the boards — a place where you would think SDSU would have the significant edge. Keep in mind this is without Owls 7-foot-1 center Goldin hauling in a single rebound too. If you were expecting a slow, methodical college basketball game between two Final Four first timers, think again.

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9:04 - Both teams are trading punches at NRG Stadium. Defense is taking center stage as the first half winds down.

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11:53 - Nick Boyd is cooking early. He drained his third 3 of the game to pull FAU within one point, 16-15.

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14:38 - Four-minute scoring drought for FAU, allowing SDSU to go on a 14-2 run and take a big lead. Great sign for the Aztecs that Bradley is the one keying this run with 11 points before we even hit the under-12 timeout. The Mountain West champs have had a rotating cast in terms of their leading scorer this tournament but getting the Cal transfer going is huge for a group that is known for their defense and needs all the help they can on the other end.

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15:56 - Despite the hot start, FAU was quickly overtaken by SDSU, which led 8-5 at the first media timeout.

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16:53 - Matt Bradley is the Aztecs' leading scorer but hadn’t connected from deep since the team’s opening round game. The Cal transfer is 2-of-2 from 3 to start the Final Four, as he enters the big stage with the most career points of anybody in Houston.

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18:29 - Good start for both teams from beyond the arc, knocking down their first 3-point attempts. Usually you get those nervous first few attempts in the football stadiums used for Final Fours, but not in this case. This was just the 17th triple allowed by SDSU all tourney.

FAU was first to strike in this one, setting the tone early with this big-time 3 from Owls guard Boyd.

>>> PREGAME SCENE

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