Who does San Diego State play next in March Madness?

With their win over Creighton, San Diego State is moving on to its first-ever Final Four. How did they get here and who do they play next in March Madness?

Just like we all predicted at the start of the season – San Diego State is heading to the Final Four for the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament in Houston.

After marching through the South Region thanks to wins over Charleston, Furman and an upset of No. 1 seed Alabama, the Aztecs’ dream season rolled on at the Yum! Center in Louisville Sunday afternoon.

Entering the tournament, SDSU had yet to win a postseason game during the five prior years under Brian Dutcher. Now they’ve won four in the last two weekends.

In order to keep their season alive, though, they had to go through Creighton.

San Diego State’s path to the Final Four

In front of a raucous crowd of 20,000, the Bluejays and Aztecs battled down to the final whistle – literally.

A game that saw seven ties and six lead changes ended up being decided on a late whistle with mere seconds left. Creighton’s Ryan Nembhard, attempting to contest a shot from San Diego State’s Darrion Trammell, was called for a shooting foul on the Aztecs’ guard. Trammell had possession as time was expiring, putting up a floater with the game tied at 56-all.

Instead of a made basket to win it, Trammell headed to the line to win it.

He missed the first, made the second, horn sounded, ball game.

The merits of a call of that magnitude in that moment can be debated all day (and trust me, Twitter is), but the fact is: San Diego State’s run now takes them to Houston, becoming the first-ever Mountain West team to reach the national semifinals.

It’s a feel-good story for SDSU, but also their coach in Dutcher. Dutcher spent 18 years as an assistant coach at San Diego State and 30 years as an assistant overall. At 63, he also becomes the second-oldest coach to make his Final Four debut.

All year, the Aztecs have relied on grit, defense and physicality to get them through. Sunday was no different, holding the Bluejays to just 23 second half points and 28% shooting. It’s the fewest points scored for Creighton in a second half since they were held to 25 in their win over UConn back in early February.

Creighton’s loss also guarantees that none of the top 10 in this season’s Preseason AP Poll will reach the Final Four, only the third time since the poll’s introduction back in 1961. It also guarantees one of the strangest Final Fours in recent history.

Who does San Diego State play next in March Madness?

If you thought San Diego State was a long-shot to reach the Final Four, their opponent had even longer odds. I’m talking about Florida Atlantic, of course.

The Owls entered the tournament with 300-1 odds to reach the national semifinals, according to ESPN. It’s called March Madness for a reason and FAU has provided plenty of Madness for the Big Dance, beating Kansas State in an instant classic Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

That match-up means two schools making their Final Four debuts will face off next week, only the second time that has happened in the last 50 seasons.

The Owls, a No. 9-seed, are not your average Cinderella story; in fact, their head coach Dusty May disagrees with the notion entirely, saying “we aren’t one.” In spite of his views, the facts are the facts. FAU plays in an arena that seats less than 3,000 people. They’ve only sponsored men’s basketball for 34 years. Prior to this year, they’d never won a postseason game, much less an NCAA Tournament game.

Don’t tell this Owls team that, though. They’ve played like a legit contender all season long. Florida Atlantic’s 35 wins are the most in college basketball this season. Saturday, they responded time and again in the face of adversity, rallying from down six- and seven-points multiple times before using a 7-0 run to pull away for good.

The Aztecs and Owls now meet for the right to play for a National Championship on April 1. No, that’s not a joke. SDSU and FAU is slated for a 6:09 PM ET tip-off on CBS.

Here’s a fun note on the Owls: Two seasons ago, FAU’s operating budget for men’s basketball was $1.6 million. For making the Final Four alone, the university will rake in $8.3 million.

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