Brian Dutcher's best decision Saturday may have been one he didn't make. The San Diego State head coach opted not to take a timeout in the final seconds of his team's Final Four game with Florida Atlantic, and the end result was a game-winning shot for Lamont Butler.
Dutcher went with a defensive lineup to prevent a basket from the Owls on the other end of the floor before Nathan Mensah grabbed a rebound on a miss. He passed it off to Butler who drove to the basket, pulled the ball back out and nailed an 18-foot jump shot as time expired to give the Aztecs a 72-71 win.
The junior guard's decision to take the shot will go down in history as it secured SDSU (32-6) its first trip to the national title game.
Dutcher joked on the TV broadcast that he ran out of plays so he decided not to call a timeout in that instance, but nobody would have blamed him as the Aztecs' two leading scorers in the game, Matt Bradley and Jaedon LeDee, sat on the bench after being subbed out at the 36-second mark.
"I figured we'd get the ball somewhere around seven seconds if we were lucky," Dutcher said. "I thought at that time let's just go downhill. I had three bigs in the game. I had Keshad, I think, AG and Nate. I told them, 'You three guys run to the rim. Lamont, you go to the basket and let's see what happens.'
"Lamont made the shot. I always say March is for players, not coaches. Lamont made a play, and made an old coach look good."
Bradley and LeDee, both transfers, combined for 33 points and 12 rebounds in the game. Instead, the glory went to one of the SDSU players who has been with the program for the entirety of his career with Butler getting his chance to leave his mark in the record books.
"He (Dutcher) told me to go downhill, get something at the rim," Butler said of the final play. "They did a good job cutting me off. Once I looked up, it was 2 seconds left, I knew I had to make a shot. I got to a shot I'm comfortable with. Went to a pull-up. Glad it went in."
Saturday's Final Four matchup swung in favor of each team at different points in the game. SDSU led by as many as 9 points early in the game behind a hot start from Bradley, but the momentum quickly shifted and a 12-2 run by the Owls (35-4) left the Aztecs down by double digits close the end of the first half.
Brian Dutcher's team battled back throughout the second half and was able to tie the game at 65 with 4:24 to play despite being down by 14 with close to 15 minutes left to play.
Bradley and LeDee were key over the next several minutes as they combined for 19 points over the final 12:36 to eventually put the Aztecs within striking distance.
"I just felt good," Bradley said. "I had two bad shooting performances these last couple of games. And I just got back in the gym. My teammates were encouraging me, my coaches. Spent some time praying, doing what I need to get right. I trust myself, most importantly. I'm thankful I was in the position to come through."
SDSU's calling card this season and in the NCAA Tournament has been its defense, and that played a big role in the comeback as well. FAU was able to score just four baskets over the final 10 minutes of Saturday's game at NRG Stadium in Houston.
"I didn't feel as they were going to try to slow the game down and grind it out," Dutcher said. "I knew they would continue to play aggressive basketball. And thank goodness for us they missed a few shots and we got a few stops and got back in the game."
SDSU will now look to win its first national championship in program history when it faces either UConn or Miami on Monday night.
