San Diego State University head coach Brian Dutcher spoke eloquently about his team's determination and the parity in March Madness after the school's 76-59 loss to UConn in the NCAA National Championship on Monday night.
Dutcher explained that it's possible to be successful in March even without significant NIL deals or transfers, according to ESPN's Myron Medcalf.
“We have a good team. With that being said, Florida Atlantic, we were fortunate to get by them [in the Final Four], and they've got a really good team, too, [with] everybody back,” Dutcher said in the post-game press conference.
“So the state of basketball is in good shape right now. And you don't have to have millions of dollars in NIL and you don't have to get every kid in the portal to be successful. You just have to have kids that are about the right things [and] that want to win beyond anything else and are willing to sacrifice to do that. And that's what we have.”
It was the first time in the tournament's history that no top seed reached the Elite Eight, and Florida Atlantic hadn't ever won an NCAA tournament game before storming to the Final Four in 2023, per ESPN.
Neither Miami or SDSU had reached the last four in their respective school's history, and Dutcher sees that parity continuing in the future.
“Florida Atlantic was way better in person than they were on tape,” Dutcher explained. “They got everybody back but one guy. I mean, I don't see who is going to beat them next year. They're fantastic. We have a good team coming back. We're going to be very good next year.”
Although No. 4 UConn dominated the tournament and never trailed against San Diego State in the NCAA National Championship, it was a true free-for-all otherwise in the tourney this year.
If SDSU's Brian Dutcher prediction of more parity in college basketball comes true, there will be a lot more madness next March.
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