While San Diego State vs Creighton will go down as an instant classic in the NCAA Tournament books, the Aztecs 57-56 win over the Bluejays to advance to their first-ever Final Four will be forever remembered for “The Foul” that wasn’t.
With each program was battling for their first ever Final Four Appearance in their respective histories. The game was physical all 40 minutes and both teams had Houston on their mind as they were ready for blastoff.
At the end of the game, there was a foul that was called on Creighton that send San Diego State to the Free Throw line. By definition the calling of the foul was the proper call based how the rule is written in the rule book. The contact between the hand of the defender and the hip of the shooter as he was attempting to shoot the ball which is what the camera angles show.
For the previous 39:55, players from both teams have been contacted harder than that without a foul being called. The adrenaline of an Elite 8 match up knowing a Final Four awaits the winner as a Final Four will be a step towards changing a program for future generations.
The feeling is similar from getting your 8th Gym Badge, using all of your Pokémon with all of your Pokémon fainting except your starter who had 1 HP left just enough to deliver the final blow. Winning that match up gives you the right to battle to become a Pokémon League Champion.
In the basketball universe, the Pokémon league Champion would be your National Champion.
Starting with recruiting as well as potential NIL opportunities for future student athletes when these decisions are made based off the Final Four goal that has been achieved.
Also, as the Final Four is reached you could see more stability for those underclassman who want to continue the tradition of making deep NCAA Tournament runs in the future. With the Transfer portal being more important than ever in addition to native recruiting, other players from other National programs may want to bring their talents to said school as they feel like the can contribute to something greater than themselves.
The called foul impacted more than this trip to the Final Four for San Diego State. Potential recruits are now looking at San Diego State as a school where a National Championship is potentially within reach vs a school with NCAA Tournament appearances with occasional opportunity to go past the first or second round.
The called foul impacted both programs. Coach Greg McDermott can use this game to his advantage as well with the national exposure the called foul is getting. Outside the people who have a connection with Omaha Nebraska, not very many people knew about Creighton Blue Jays.
As both teams prepare for their program’s future, one thing is for certain, the game wasn’t won or lost by that foul call alone. The game that we watched yesterday showed how much the fans, coaches, and players cared so much for their programs to put in the effort like that.
It takes the preparation of the coaches, the cheering by the fans, and the execution by the players to see that kind of a game.