These were the gate crashers, the unannounced guests of the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament. They were the underdogs, the Cinderellas, the weirdness and unpredictability of this year’s competition personified. That’s how others saw them, at least.
San Diego State, a No. 5 seed, and Florida Atlantic, a No. 9, viewed things differently. The labels, well intentioned as they were, diminished their hard work since last summer. They introduced the element of fairy-tale good fortune, when all the players saw was hard work and the culmination of their skills on the court.
In a tense battle of the Final Four’s supposed misfits, San Diego State slipped past Florida Atlantic, 72-71, on a buzzer-beating jumper from Lamont Butler, reiterating their case that they belong on college basketball’s biggest stage.