Creighton

The third game of 2023's men's basketball Elite Eight between No. 5 San Diego State and No. 6 Creighton was a thriller through the very end.

Referees had to go old school and manually start the clock. As you'll see below, the ball tipped off of the SDSU and Creighton big men's hands and went back into the air, but the clock remained at 1.2 seconds. Down one with 1.2 seconds to play, Creighton had to inbound from underneath the opposite basket. With only a 2.4-second difference between the shot clock and game clock, Lamont Butler dribbled out the first 24 seconds of the shot clock. Then, the Aztecs inbounded on the sideline with 34.2 to play. There were a number of close calls during the final minute that were pivotal to deciding the game.

Aztec Guard Darrion Trammell made the second of two free throws to give the Aztecs a 57-56 victory over Creighton Sunday afternoon in Louisville.

The cold shooting continued with beyond the arc with the Blue Jays making only 2/17 and the Aztecs with 3/13. Back to work tomorrow to prepare for the biggest weekend in Aztec history, One shining moment continues to live on The Mesa. Obviously, the Aztec defense continues to carry the season. What this means is the first Final Four in school history, as well as the first Final Four for a Aztec Guard Darrion Trammell made the second of two free throws to give the Aztecs a 57-56 victory over Creighton Sunday afternoon in Louisville. Now the Aztecs (and their contingent of fans), began to celebrate.

Lamont Butler scored 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and Trammell added 12 points as the fifth-seeded Aztecs (31-6) followed their Friday takedown of No. 1 seed ...

The finish was ironic as San Diego State lost to Creighton 72-69 in overtime in last year's first round of the NCAA Tournament. San Diego State later was inbounding the ball from the side in its backcourt with 34.2 seconds left. Aguek Arop scored back-to-back baskets in a 55-second span to give the Aztecs a 54-50 edge with 3:04 remaining. "You want your team to come close to reaching your potential. Just having that confidence that, yeah, I missed the first one, but I definitely wasn't going to miss the second one." I think we could have done a little bit more to make it a game that didn't have to go down to that, but it's a tough way to lose." You work so hard all year, and it comes down to a play like that," Nembhard said. Arthur Kaluma and Baylor Scheierman added 12 points apiece for the Bluejays. "We're making the next step, and it's something we've always talked about," Dutcher said. Lamont Butler scored 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and Trammell added 12 points as the fifth-seeded Aztecs (31-6) followed their Friday takedown of No. "I'm sure there were people that doubted we could do it, but we never doubted for a minute. Fisher did make the program an NCAA Tournament regular before retiring in 2017.

Darrion Trammell had shot enough free throws in practice to believe at least one would fall when it mattered.

The Aztecs held the Crimson Tide and Creighton to a combined 5-of-44 (.114) from 3-point range, the best such defensive percentage ever in a regional weekend for a team that advanced to the Final Four. They shared a round-trip flight to Hawaii last fall for the Maui Invitational, and there were no dustups during a tight, physical game in which no team led by more than eight points. The Aztecs, who got this far thanks to defense and physical play, held them to 23 second-half points on 28% shooting. In the final seconds of the East final, Trammell dribbled from the perimeter and elevated for the potential winning shot. "I feel like I've shot probably a thousand free throws in the last week," said Trammell, who was named the region's most outstanding player. Baylor Scheierman threw the ensuing inbound pass the length of the floor, San Diego State's Aguek Arop and Creighton's Arthur Kaluma both jumped for it, and the ball deflected out of bounds.

Los Aztecs superan a los Bluejays tras unos tensos minutos finales y se enfrentarán a Florida Atlantic en la semifinal nacional del sábado.

Finalmente descubrieron cómo parar a los Bluejays, que abrieron la mitad con 4 de 21 en total y 0 de 8 detrás del arco. Su temporada en Santa Cruz terminó el sábado, y se apresuró al aeropuerto para coger un vuelo nocturno a Louisville ... Los Bluejays encestaron un 53.8 por ciento contra un equipo que había permitido un 32.2 por ciento durante el torneo y Kalkbrenner ya había anotado 10 puntos. A los aztecas se les acabó el tiempo y dispusieron de un balón en medio de la cancha a falta de 6.7 segundos. Los Bluejays dispararon un 53.8 por ciento contra un equipo que había estado permitiendo un 32.2 por ciento durante el torneo y Kalkbrenner ya tenía 10 puntos. Pero fallaron sus siguientes seis tiros, mientras que Baylor Scheierman encestó un flotador en el carril y Nembhard anotó un triple. Añádase a eso tal vez la mejor combinación pequeño-grande de la nación en el Nembhard y Kalkbrenner trabajando fuera de pantallas de bolas altas. Eso no incluye una jugada en la que Nembhard condujo, tenía un mal ángulo pero tiró de todos modos —casi intencionadamente fallando al otro lado de la canasta— porque sabía que Kalkbrenner lo limpiaría, y así lo hizo. Los Aztecs encestaron solo un 37.7 por ciento, por debajo del 40 por ciento de Creighton, pero lo compensaron con 13 rebotes ofensivos que convirtieron en 13 puntos de segunda oportunidad. Los Aztecs tenían el balón y una ventaja de 56-54 con 33.7 segundos para el final y una línea lateral. Nathan Mensah tuvo ocho, incluyendo un puente de embrague con 1:35 que los puso arriba 56-54 después de Creighton había empatado en un par de canastas de 7 pies-1 Ryan Kalkbrenner (17 puntos). Pero el oficial Lee Cassell no lo hizo, y pronto Trammell estaba en la línea para dos tiros.