USA TODAY International Edition
San Diego State mad- rushes to Final 4
San Diego State is Final Four bound for the first time in the men’s basketball NCAA Tournament.
Darrion Trammell sank the second of two free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining in the game as the Aztecs outlasted Creighton 57- 56 in a tightly contested and physically intense South Regional final Sunday in Louisville.
Trammell finished with 12 points, none bigger than the last one. Lamont Butler led the Aztecs with 18 as SDSU became the second team to be headed to the Final Four for the first time this season after Florida Atlantic earned its first trip Saturday. The schools play in the semifinals Saturday in Houston.
The ending, unfortunately, was not without controversy. Creighton’s Ryan Nembhard was whistled for a foul on Trammell’s attempt at a go- ahead jumper. Trammell missed the first free throw but made the second, and Creighton’s last- ditch effort to go the length of the floor was broken up.
“Two teams played their tails off and officiating is part of the game,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said after the loss. “We’re not going to go there. We lost the game because we didn’t do enough and San Diego State did.”
The Aztecs trailed for most of the first half, by as many as eight on a couple of occasions, and were down 33- 28 at intermission. But they staged a 6- 0 run coming out of halftime to take the lead briefly, and things were close the rest of the way. The Bluejays tied the score at 56- all with 32 seconds left on a steal and layup by Baylor Scheierman.
Ryan Kalkbrenner paced Creighton with 17 points, as the Bluejays used his size advantage to good effect early. But San Diego State stayed within shouting distance in part by dominating the offensive glass.
It was a rematch of a first- round contest in 2022, as the Bluejays as a No. 9 seed outlasted the Aztecs in overtime. Both programs have become NCAA Tournament regulars but were each in the Elite Eight for the first time.
This season’s run marked the first tournament victories for San Diego State in coach Brian Dutcher’s six years at the helm. This Final Four run is a measure of redemption for SDSU, which was slated to be a very high seed in 2020 before the COVID- 19 pandemic forced the tournament’s cancellation.
Creighton’s loss ensured that four conferences will be represented this coming weekend in Houston.