With a pregame message focused on inspirational Muhammad Ali quotes, San Diego State came out swinging against Alabama.

Tapping into playing in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher rattled off Ali quotes before his team walked onto the court to take on No. 1 overall seed Alabama. The message? Be fearless.

“Everyone wants to be fearless, so we should go be fearless,” said San Diego State forward Nathan Mensah, who had five blocks against the Tide. “We know they are going to try to pounce in the beginning because they are the No. 1 team, so let’s show these guys what we’re about.”

From the opening tip, San Diego State did precisely that. The Aztecs slowed the tempo and forced Alabama to make tough, contested shots. SDSU’s physicality and length bothered Alabama all night, forcing the Tide into one of its worst shooting performances. Alabama shot an abysmal 3 of 27 from three-point range with its top players, Brandon Miller and Javhon Quinerly, combining for 2 of 13.

Featuring a starting lineup that ran out four seniors and one junior, the Aztecs felt like their maturity would be the difference against a young Alabama team. They noticed early on that Tide players seemed to be arguing a lot of foul calls with the referees and doubled down on the physicality, believing it would unnerve Alabama down the stretch. At one point in the second half, Alabama coach Nate Oats seemed to instruct Quinerly to stop talking to the referees after he argued a foul call.

“From the tip, they were complaining about the physicality,” SDSU guard Matt Bradley said. “They allowed us to play; it was a really physical game. Once people start asking for fouls, you know they are worried about things other than basketball.”

What happened Friday night at the Yum! Center was always the playbook to beat this high-powered Alabama team, but few teams possessed the defense and depth capable of hanging with Alabama for forty minutes. Alabama came at you in waves this season, bringing in a seemingly endless supply of lengthy, athletic players.

Maryland hung with Alabama for 20 minutes in the second round last weekend in Birmingham before Alabama’s scoring potency took over and led to a final score that looked worse than it was. Still, afterward, Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said how his Terrapins played was the way to beat Alabama. San Diego State closely studied how Tennessee, Arkansas and Houston matched up against Alabama this season, seeing itself in the way those teams played against the Tide.

“Our DNA matches Tennessee,” Bradley said. “They’ve got a bunch of gritty dudes.”

SDSU’s grit was displayed in the second half when it withstood a ferocious Alabama run and landed a strong counterpunch. The Aztecs had a 28-23 lead at halftime, but everyone in the building seemed to know Alabama would make a run. The Crimson Tide started the second half pushing the ball and playing the faster tempo it prefers, storming out to an 11-2 run to take back the lead. For Alabama guard Nimari Burnett, it was a familiar experience watching a slow start turn into an offensive explosion to get “on the right track that we are used to being on.”

But the Mountain West champions didn’t fold. Down 48-39, with the Alabama fans starting to roar in approval inside the Yum! Center, the Aztecs steadied themselves and delivered big basket after basket. Darrion Trammell quickly scored five points to cut the lead to four, and SDSU’s confidence soared.

“If we get one-stop, two-stop, they’re going to cave in because they are young guys,” Mensah said. “Darrion makes a big shot, and right after that, they caved in.”

Mensah did his part, blocking multiple Quinerly shot attempts around the rim, as SDSU could sense Alabama began pressing as its lead faded. Miller couldn’t buy a basket down the stretch, and outside of a late Mark Sears-led run, no other Tide contributor was up for the task of delivering a win. The joy — and cruelty — of March Madness is all it takes is one bad effort, and your season is over. The pressure is intense, creating stars while leaving others to wonder what could have been. The path to a national championship game was wide open for Alabama should it have emerged victorious Friday night. All that was standing in Alabama’s way from suiting up Monday night for a chance to win it all were Creighton and the winner of Florida Atlantic/Kansas State. The path might never get better for Alabama than that in a tournament that will be best remembered for its chaos and parity.

But this Alabama team wasn’t ready for the spotlight and couldn’t handle the pressure of the big March stage the way San Diego State was. “They’ve been in a million of these situations over their careers,” Dutcher said about his team. “And, so, they didn’t shy away from the moment. They weren’t nervous.”

John Talty is the SEC Insider for Alabama Media Group. He is the bestselling author of “The Leadership Secrets of Nick Saban: How Alabama’s Coach Became the Greatest Ever.”