The Final Four has proven thus far to be a fitting end to March Madness, thanks in no small part to Lamont Butler.
The 2023 NCAA Tournament has seen incredible superlatives this year, including the second 16-vs.-1 upset and the first Elite Eight without a 1 seed. Yet, somehow, it didn't have a true buzzer-beater, a staple of March Madness for generations.
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Until, of course, Butler saved the Aztecs' season with a dagger against Florida Atlantic as time expired. The 6-1 junior from Moreno Valley, Calif., gave SDSU a 72-71 victory over the Owls and put it in the national championship game.
LAMONT BUTLER WINS IT AT THE BUZZER 😱
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 2, 2023
THE AZTECS ARE #NATIONALCHAMPIONSHIP BOUND 🔥#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/2sqxu5g05j
"They cut me off a little bit. I looked up, there was two seconds left, so I got to a shot that I'm comfortable with, and I hit it," Butler said of the play. "I'm happy.
MORE: Lamont Butler channels Kris Jenkins with Final Four buzzer-beater in Houston
"It's unbelievable. It's what I came here to do," Butler added. "I'm glad the shot went in. I'm just happy for my team right now."
With that, the Aztecs will play for their first national championship against the winner of Saturday's other national semifinal, between UConn and Miami. All because of Butler, who finished the game with nine points, two rebounds, three assists and that incredible final shot.
Here's everything you need to know about the Aztecs' Final Four hero:
MORE: FAU vs. San Diego State final score, results
He went to the same high school as Reggie Miller
Butler is from Moreno Valley, Calif., and he played at Riverside (Calif.) Poly High School — the same school where NBA Hall of Famer Reggie Miller played.
Butler was a four-year letterman in basketball under Bears coach Yancy Dodson. The team won 91 games in his basketball career, including a 27-7 record and 12-0 Ivy League record his senior year in 2019-20. More impressively, he passed Miller as the school's all-time leading scorer with more than 1,800 career points, per his SDSU bio. He also had 559 assists and 271 steals. He 43.2 percent (642 for 1,485) from the field for his career.
Lamont Butler recruit rankings
Butler was considered a three-star recruit in the 2020 class per 247Sports' Composite rankings. He was considered the No. 243 overall player in the class, the No. 40 point guard, and the No. 30 player in the state of California.
His 247Sports bio lists him as having 15 scholarship offers out of high school, mostly from Division I schools in California, but also from Washington, Boise State, Harvard, Colorado, Montana, Rice and Weber State.
MORE: The dream of SDSU's greatest team was crushed in 2020, but endures through 2023 Final Four squad
Lamont Butler stats
| Year | PPG | FG% | RPG | APG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 4.3 | 39.6 | 1.7 | 1.5 |
| 2021-22 | 7.3 | 39.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| 2022-23 | 8.7 | 42.0 | 2.7 | 3.3 |