March Madness: San Diego St to meet UConn in title game

By JOHN MARSHALL
AP Basketball Writer

HOUSTON (AP) — Lamont Butler hit the biggest shot in San Diego State history, putting the Aztecs in the national championship game for the first time.

UConn dominated yet another NCAA Tournament opponent, completing its return to national relevance.

The Aztecs and Huskies will play for a national title Monday night with history on the line.

For San Diego State (32-6), it will be the culmination of the program building Steve Fisher started and his longtime former assistant Brian Dutcher pushed forward.

UConn (30-8) will be vying for its fifth national title since 1999, but first since Dan Hurley was hired to bring back the program after its fall from grace.

The Aztecs have done it with defense.

San Diego State shut down four straight NCAA Tournament opponents and leaned on its D in the second half to overcome a 14-point deficit to ruin Florida Atlantic’s first Final Four. Butler provided the heroics, hitting a buzzer-beater in the 72-71 win that had all of San Diego celebrating.

The Huskies did it by dominating.

UConn won its first four NCAA Tournament games by at least 15 points and wrecked Miami’s first Final Four appearance by dominating the Hurricanes at both ends in a 72-59 win.

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AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25