Florida Atlantic Owls 71 vs 72 San Diego State Aztecs summary: stats and highlights | NCAA Final Four
That's going to do it for our coverage of the first Final Four game from Houston. Click here to follow the second semifinal as the UCONN Huksies take on the Miami Hurricanes
Miami was watching Butler hit the buzzer beater from the tunnel. Will it be the Canes playing San Diego State on Monday night?
The people at Petco Park were watching during the Padres game, and you can bet that this was the loudest roar of the game as soon as Butler's game winner splashed down with 0:00 on the clock.
Check out Chuck watching Lamont Butler hit the game winner to send SDSU to the National Title game.
Enough to give you goosebumps. College basketball is special, and moments like this remind us of that time and time again.
You will see this over and over and over again. Not just tonight. Not just this week. You will see this for the next decades. Lamont Butler with a shot for the history books to lift the Aztecs to their first ever National Championship!
Bradley had 11 quick points and then stopped scoring until the final 10 minutes of the game. He ended the night with 21 points.
The Aztecs went cold for a stretch at the end of the first half, and that led the Owls to take a double digit advantage. SDSU was down 7 at the half but came battling back from 14 down.
Butler had the eurostep early in the game, but would have a quiet night until the final seconds of the game.
The Aztecs went down 5-0 but Bradley and company woke up and scored 14 unanswered to take the early lead thanks to Bradley's 3/3 start from downtown.
LAMONT BUTLER WILL GO DOWN IN NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY AFTER THIS BUZZER BEATER TO SEND SDSU TO THE NATIONAL TITLE GAME!
INCREDIBLE FINISH FROM HOUSTON!!!
It looked like Butler wasn't going to get the shot off, but he pulls the trigger with 0.7 on the clock and drained the biggest shot of his life to send the Aztecs to the National Title game!!
SDSU WINS IT WITH A BUZZER BEATER FROM BUTLER!!!!
TImeout FAU with 17.5 left on the game clock and 11 on the shot clock.
LeDee with a smooth jumper from a step inside the FT line to bring the Aztecs to within one with 37 on the clock. Timeout FAU up a point, and this one is going down to a photo finish.
Martin on the reverse lay up on the baseline and what a play that was with the game on the line!
Timeout SDSU with 42 seconds to go in the game.
LeDee puts his head down and gets to the rack, finishing off the play with a jump hook in the lane.
Timeout FAU with 58 seconds to go in the second half.
Davis was fouled by Bradley, and he hits both FTs to stretch the lead back out to three with 1:20 to go in the game.
Under two minutes to play in the second half from Houston!
Bradley running the break after the Goldin turnover, and he was fouled by Davis. Bradley hits one of two and we have a one point game. SDSU has missed 8 out of their last 11 FTs.
Martin fouled Parrish on the rebound attempt, and that's his fourth foul, but Parrish misses both FTs.
We are headed to the final TV timeout with 3:14 left in the game!
Rosado with another one of those fade aways in the land to break the scoreless streak.
Arop at the line, and he hits one of two FTs after Goldin picks up his fourth foul. Another offensive rebound lead to Arop hitting a baseline jumper to tie the game! The Owls haven't scored in three minutes!
The Aztecs are controlling the battle of the boards, and their offensive rebounds are giving them the chance to get back into this game.
Bradley at the line after the offensive board, and he hits one of tow.
LeDee gets fouled by Goldin, and he hits one of two, but the offensive rebound leads to another foul, this time on Weatherspoon.
Mensah picked up his fourth foul, sending Goldin to the line but he missed both.
LeDee goes to the line and misses both FTs
Martin on the spot up from the top of the key and he hits the three ball!
LeDee on the spin in the lane and the jump hook falls for the hometown kid!
Martin cuts baseline and gets the back door pass from Rosado for the slam!
Bradley was fouled by Rosado, and he looks like he wants to take this game over. Both FTs are good for Bradley, and he's got 19 on the night.
LeDee on the spin on the block and finishes with the soft touch.
Bradley drops a three ball, and he's got four triples tonight!! And the lead to down to 6 for the Owls with 10 minutes to go in the second half.
Martin at the line out of the timeout and he hits both FTs. That's nine made FTs this half for Martin.
Parrish drills a three ball, and that's two in the last couple minutes for the man who just T'd up just a few minutes ago.
We are headed to a timeout with 11:11 to go in the half, and and the Aztecs looking to get back into this game.
Davis on the up and under for the short range effort under the bucket.
Bradley got fouled by Davis on a three pointer, and he goes to the line and hits all three FTs for his first points since getting a quick 11 early in the first half.
Parrish sticks a three ball for SDSU after watching ring around the rim a couple times!
Martin back to the line and he hits both. He's got seven straight points, all from the line.
Finally Arop gets a bucket to drop for SDSU with a jump hook in the lane.
The Owls got the ball back after the T, and Martin got fouled by Mensah on the three ball! He hits all three FTs.
Parrish got called for a technical foul after throwing a little elbow to the chops of Weatherspoon. Martin hits both technical FTs at the line to stretch the lead to 11, the largest of the night.
We are headed to a TV timeout with 15:56 to go in the second half.
Greenlee turns on the jets and blows by the defender for a lay up right down main street.
Goldin to the line after the foul on Bradley, and he hits one of two FTs.
Trammell into the lane and he gets the turn around to drop. He's got a couple quick buckets to start the second half.
Martin drills the corner three ball, and that's just about all we have seen to start the second half is both teams hitting from downtown.
Butler to the line after the foul on Martin, and he hits both FTs.
Trammell responds with a three ball of his own for his first points of the night!
Boyd starts the half with a three ball after a great hustle possession from FAU!
WE ARE BACK FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION FROM HOUSTON!!!
Rosado and the Owls stretched the lead out to double digits and Rosado had 6 points off the bench in a stretch that SDSU went scoreless for over five and a half minutes.
The Aztecs are known for their defense, which Arop shows here, but they gave up 40 points in that first half!
The Aztecs went down 5-0 off the block, but then scored 14 straight points thanks to some hot shooting from Bradley and Mensah.
Boyd got the Owls off to a quick start. He hit the opening three ball, and had three triples in the opening minutes of the game.
WE ARE HEADED TO HALFTIME WITH THE NINE SEEDED FAU OWLS UP SEVEN!!!
Johnson spots up from the wing for three off the dish from Bradley!
Martin slashes to the rack, takes the contact and gets the bucket to go! FT is no good after the foul by Arop.
Arop off the inbound and he stretches to the bucket for a lay up.
Rosado with another fader in the lane, this one off a turnaround. 12-2 run and the lead is the largest of the night for FAU.
We are headed back to timeout with 3:04 left in the half.
Rosada with back to back buckets, this time on a fader in the lane. 10-2 run for the Owls and SDSU needs a timeout with 3:30 to go in the half.
Rosado barrelling over the SDSU defenders and gets to the bucket for a lay up!
Arop beats the shot clock buzzer on the post move from down low and the finish off the glass.
Step back three ball from Martin after the pick on the perimeter!
Greenlee jacks a three ball out of the timeout and he gives FAU the lad with 6:30 to go in the half!
Mensah with back to back buckets, this time from in the lane on the turn around hook shot.
We are headed to a timeout with 6:40 to go in the first half!
Gaffney pulls the trigger from the top of the key and strokes the triple!
Mensah with a smooth jumper from the FT line off the assist from Butler.
Goldin using the body to get to the iron and he hits the short push shot under the rim.
Big block from Mensah leads to a three ball from Butler to give the Aztecs the lead!
Butler with the eurostep around the big man and he gets the lay up to drop of the glass.
LeDee picks up his second foul, sending Weatherspoon to the line where he hit both FTs.
Davis heads to the FT line after the foul on Butler and he hits both.
Goldin on the turnaround hook shot off the crystal for his first points.
LeDee at the line out of the timeout and he hits one of two.
Boyd strings his third three ball of the night, this time from the top of the key!! 10-2 run for the Owls since giving up 14 straight! We are headed to a TV timeout with 11:24 on the clock.. Back and forth we go.
LeDee banging down low, and he gets the offensive board and put back.
Forrest off the bench and going high off the glass with the scoop lay up over the SDSU defense.
Boyd with a three ball and he's got a couple of those already tonight!
Martin drops the jumper from midrange to break up the SDSU 14-0 run.
Bradley backing down on the block, and he hits the leaner off the turnaround.
It's Bradley again from downtown, and he's a perfect 3/3 from long range!!!
Mensah hits the FT, and the Aztecs have scored nine straight after going down 5-0.
Mensah gets the lob over the top in transition, and finishes the lay up on the break, and gets the foul!!! He'll shoot FTs after the first TV timeout with 15:56 to go in the first half.
Bradley with a couple three balls to get his night started and he's got all 6 points for the Aztecs.
Bradley with a three ball, and they need him to get going. He's been cold in the last few games.
Davis gets in the the lane and finishes the floater over the SDSU defense.
Boyd starts off the night launching a three ball to five the NIne seed the first lead!
WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM HOUSTON!!! FORTY MINUTES TO DECIDE A FINALIST!
SDSU Tournament histroy
The Aztecs have been around the block a few times, but have never reached these lengths in the tournament. They have been Dancing 14 times before, but the farthest they have ever got before this year was the Sweet 16. They were there in 2011 and 2014, but got bounced by UCONN in ’11 and Arizona in 2014.
FAU's Tournament history
FAU’s basketball program is relatively new, so seeing their tournament history isn’t too surprising. This is just their second trip to the Big Dance, after making the Tournament in 2002. They were knocked out by Alabama in the opening round and had to wait over 20 years to get back. This year their C-USA tournament title returned them the tourney. Their first round win over Memphis was their first ever and they hit the ground running winning their next four games to get reach the Final Four and make program history.
Star watch: SDSU
The Aztecs have just one player who is averaging double digits scoring this year. That’s Matt Bradley, who is averaging 12.5 points an outing. The next highest scorer was the hero of the Elite 8 win over Creighton, Darrion Trammell. He averages 9.9 points a game, but started the tournament slow, scoring 9 points total in the first two games. Since then he’s getting 18.6 in the last three rounds. Bradley had 16 then 17 in the first weekend, but in the last two games he scored 6 against Alabama and just 2 in the Elite 8 game against Creighton.
Star watch: FAU
FAU is a team that prides themselves on their defense, but they do have a handful of scorers that can take over a game at any moment. Johnell Davis leads the team getting 13.9 points a game while Alijah Martin is adding another 13.1 points, and their big man posts 10.3 points and 6.6 rebounds a game. Giancarlo Rosado had a break out game in the first round of the tournament He is scoring just 5.7 a night, but had 15 in the one point win over Memphis. Davis dropped 29 and 15 in the next two rounds and is averaging 17.4 points a game in the tournament.
How they got here: SDSU
San Diego State was ranked 18th in the country coming into the tournament after winning the Mountain West with a a win over Utah State. They lost just six games all year, and earned a five seed in the South bracket. They got through their tricky 5-12 matchup with a 63-57 win over the College of Charleston. They met another high seed in the next round and took down Furman in a 23 point blowout. The real test came in the Sweet 16 when they took down the top seeded Alabama Crimson Tide 71-64. Then came the Creighton Blue Jays in the Elite 8, and they squeaked out a win thanks to Darrion Tremmel’s FT with a second on the clock.
How they got here: FAU
The Owls were already on the National scene before the tournament began. A 35-3 record had them ranked in the Top 25 after the regular season, and after winning the AAC tournament they were given a 9 seed in the Big Dance. FAU survived a scare against Memphis in the opening round as Nicholas Boyd hit a game winning floater with 2.5 on the clock to give the Owls their first every March Madness win. They got Farliegh Dickinson, who beat the one seed Purdue, in the next round and beat them by 8. Their next test came against Tennessee in the Sweet 16, and they tops the Volunteers by 7 points which earned them the chance to play Kansas State in the Elite Eight. They beat one of the top teams and top talents in Markquis Powell in a three point win to get to their first Final Four.
FAU KO K-State
FAU needed all 40 minutes to take down the Wildcats of Kansas State after turning the ball over 22 times. Despite the giveaways, they outrebounded K State 44-22 and that helped them build up a 8 point lead with 2:30 left in the second half. The Wildcats pulled it to within a point with 9 seconds, but Michael Forrest hit two FTs with 7 on the clock to secure the win for the Owls. Alijah Martin led FAU with 17 points as four of the starting five went for double digits in the 79-76 win to soar the Owls into their first Final Four ever.
SDSU survives Elite 8
The Creighton Blue Jays took the Aztecs down to the wire in an Elite Eight matchup to remember. The lead never stretched to over eight points as both teams exchanged blows for all 12 rounds. Lamont Butler led SDSU with 18 points, and the Aztecs looked like they were going to take the W late in the second half, but a Adam Seiko’s inbound pass was picked off by Baylor Scheierman, and he went up for the lay up to tie the game at 56-56 with 32 on the clock. With a few seconds on the clock Darrion Tremmel drove to the bucket, and got fouled by Ryan Nembhard. He missed the first but made the second with 0:01 on the clock to send the Aztecs to their first Final Four.
We are live from NRG Stadium
Hello everyone and welcome to Houston where we will determine who will be moving on to Monday’s National Championship game in the next 40 minutes here from Houston. It would be an understatement to say that seeing these two Final Four debutants is a shock, but that’s the beauty of the Big Dance. We are used to seeing Cinderella’s make deep runs in the tournament, but tonight the clock will strike midnight for one of these to darlings of the tourney.
FAU vs. SDSU
It’s Final Four Saturday in the NCAA Tournament and history has already been made as SDSU and FAU are in their first national semifinal in program history, and tonight only one will be moving on to the title game on Monday night. AS English will be with you all night long providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight first first of two must see games.