The celebration was delayed by an official review, but the end result was still the same. San Diego State is headed to the Final Four for the first time in program history after a battle in the Elite Eight against Creighton on Sunday at KFC YUM! Center in Louisville.

The fifth-seeded Aztecs' 57-56 win over the sixth-seeded Bluejays did not come easy.

Neither team led by more than eight points and down the stretch the final two squads left in the South Region traded baskets and every possession was an important one.

Ultimately, Creighton (24-13) tied the game with under 35 seconds to play on a make from guard Baylor Scheierman, after a turnover from SDSU's Adam Seiko, giving the Aztecs (31-6) the final possession.

Senior guard Darrion Trammell was fouled on a shot attempt with under two seconds to play, and after missing the first free throw he made the second. Creighton's ensuing full-court heave came up empty but referees decided to review the play.

"I feel like I've shot probably 1,000 free throws in the last week," Trammell said. "So at the end of the day, I feel like I put in the work to be able to step up and have the confidence that I was going to make them.

"... That the moment wasn't too big for me. Through everything I've been through, I feel like the opportunity was just set there for me. It was God's timing. I just had to believe in that. Just having that confidence that, yeah, I missed the first one, but I definitely wasn't going to miss the second one."

SDSU coach Brian Dutcher brought his team to a huddle just in case there was still any time on the clock before the officials ruled the game over clearing the way for a celebration from the Aztecs.

"They've got a really good team, and we were separated by one point tonight," Dutcher said. "If there was time on the clock, who knows what could have happened, but we're grateful to be advancing."

San Diego State's road to its first Final Four appearance has not been an easy one. The Aztecs had to beat the No. 1 overall seed, Alabama, just to reach Sunday's Elite Eight matchup.

Dutcher is confident his group has the right makeup to ultimately complete its run as the Aztecs now will prepare to face East Region champion and No. 9-seed Florida Atlantic in Houston.

"I told the team in the locker room — they had the music going," Dutcher said. " I walked in, and I told them, 'turn it down.' I said, 'either sing, dance, or get out of the way. Aztecs are going to the Final Four.' Here we are.

"We're making the next step, and it's something we've always talked about, and I'm sure there were people that doubted we could do it, but we never doubted for a minute. Not to say it's easy to get there or that we would ever get there, but we're there now, and we're going to go and try to win the thing."

SDSU is the epitome of what a top team looks like in 2023. Dutcher and his staff have assembled a group that is made up of homegrown talent that has developed within the program, such as Sunday's leading scorer Lamont Butler (18 points), with transfers such as Trammell (Seattle U), Jaedon LeDee (TCU) and Matt Bradley (Cal).

That mix has led to the Aztecs' first Final Four run and now has a national title within reach.

"Well, it's a vision coach [Steve] Fisher had all those years ago when he came to the Mesa, and we recruited and told people this is what we were going to do," Dutcher said. "They all thought it was just recruiting talk, but here we sit. So thank you for coach Fisher for building a great foundation for our university, for supporting us and for these young guys for believing in that vision and making it come true."

Trammell finished with 12 points and 5 rebounds for the Aztecs while Nathan Mensah contributed with 8 points and 6 rebounds. Mensah hit a shot with 1:36 left to play to give SDSU a lead and put the team in position to pull out the victory.

Senior Aguek Arop played a pivotal role late in the game as well as he hit back-to-back shots to put the Aztecs up 4 points with just over 3 minutes to play. He finished with 6 points and 3 rebounds in 14 minutes on the floor.

"I grew up watching Creighton go to tournament and play and just being a fan of Creighton," Arop said. "Obviously they're a really good team, and after losing last year and being able to come back this year and play against them and beat them, it's special, you know.

"I'm from Omaha, but I don't feel that bad for Omaha. This is for San Diego. The people that are with me, all the people from south Omaha, all my family, all my close people, they were supporting me, they were behind me. That's all that mattered."

The final week of the NCAA Tournament will begin April 1 at NRG Stadium in Houston with the other side of the bracket to be determined later Sunday after a matchup between second-seeded Texas and No. 5-seed Miami to decide the Midwest Region. Fourth-seeded UConn has already secured its spot in the Final Four after beating Gonzaga on Saturday to decide the West Region champion.