San Diego State’s dream run in March Madness 2023 was inches away from coming to an end Saturday night.
Instead, Lamont Butler’s footwork helped book the Aztecs a spot in the championship game against UConn.
Butler nailed a buzzer-beating pull-up jumper to secure San Diego State’s 72-71 win over Florida Atlantic in the Final Four, but a closer look at the replay of the now iconic shot reveals just how close it was to not counting.
After the Aztecs secured a stop and rebound while trailing 71-70 with under 10 seconds remaining, head coach Brian Dutcher opted not to use a timeout to prevent the Owls’ defense from being able to set themselves up — despite Dutcher having a more defensively minded lineup on the court.
That included Butler, whose defense is his main strength.
After Nathan Mensah grabbed the defensive rebound, he quickly passed to Butler.
Butler took nine dribbles before uncorking his game-winner.
He initially tried to drive to the rim along the baseline on the right side of the court, but was cut off by defender Nick Boyd.
As Butler then planted his right foot to change directions into his pull-up jumper, he came dangerously close to stepping out of bounds.
On replay, viewers can see hardly a sliver of court visible separating Butler’s right foot and the out-of-bounds line.
But that sliver of court, regardless of how big or small, is all that matters, and has San Diego State in its first national championship game in program history.
“A little shocked,” Butler said after the game. “I didn’t really know, I mean, how big it was. We’re going to the national championship.
“That’s not [something] many people do… It feels amazing. It’s just hard to put into words.”
It was the first true buzzer-beater in the men’s NCAA Tournament since Jalen Suggs banked in a deep 3-pointer to lift Gonzaga past UCLA in the Final Four two years ago.
Dutcher said after the game that he told his team he wouldn’t call a timeout for the final possession, and that he considered having his team foul but instead trusted his side to secure the consequential stop.
His team subsequently proved him right.
“Lamont made the shot,” Dutcher said after the game. “I always say March is for players, not coaches. Lamont made a play, and made an old coach look good.”
Butler finished with nine points on 3-for-6 shooting along with footwork that will now go down in history.
Credit: Source link
