Brian Dutcher and San Diego State University completed an upset for the ages on Friday night, knocking off top seed Alabama to advance to the school's first ever berth in the Elite Eight. Dutcher spoke about the incredible victory afterwards.

“I'm using Muhammad Ali quotes because we're in Louisville, and we talked about confidence and the key to confidence is being fearless,” Dutcher said. “I thought we were fearless tonight.”

Alabama emerged as one of the most dominant NCAA teams in the country during the 2022-23 season, but the pesky No. 5 seed SDSU wouldn't go away, defeating the juggernauts 71-64 to set up a date with No. 6 Creighton on Sunday.

The Crimson Tide struggled throughout the game, finishing with 14 turnovers and shooting just 3-for-27 from 3-point range, according to ESPN.

The Aztecs have made the NCAA tournament in all of Dutcher's six seasons, “and they suffocated Alabama's offense by holding the Crimson Tide to 32.4 percent overall shooting,” wrote Pete Thamel.

“The program, which consistently bellows the defiant chant of ‘I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL WIN,' executed that belief through stretches of tough offense and a nine-point second-half deficit.”

San Diego State entered the game with the No. 6 defense in the country, and were physical and relentless to keep the game without reach. They held Alabama star Brandon Miller without a basket for the first 12:45 of the contest, including forcing him into early foul trouble.

SDSU now becomes the first Mountain West school to ever reach the Elite Eight, and the first Mountain West team to defeat a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament since seeding began in 1979.

For Brian Dutcher and the San Diego State Aztecs, it's an incredible win over Alabama, but the work still isn't done. With all four No. 1 seeds out of the tournament, the road to the title game is as wide open as it's ever been for San Diego State Basketball.

“When we recruit, we say our goal is to win a national championship, so we can't act surprised when we have an opportunity to advance to the Final Four,” Dutcher said. “It's just not words we get them to come here. It's words we believe in.”