In a year full of parity in college basketball this season, it is the San Diego State Aztecs who will appear in Monday’s National Championship against No. 4 University of Connecticut.
The Aztecs, who are a No. 5 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, went through a tough nonconference schedule back in November and December, playing future March Madness teams, such as Kennesaw State, Arizona, St. Mary’s, and Arkansas.
Then came SDSU’s Mountain West Conference schedule that included being a sea-level team playing as high as 7,220 feet at Wyoming (and winning by five). The Aztecs also had to travel to some difficult road environments, such as Utah State, Boise State, Nevada, and New Mexico, where the latter was the final undefeated team in the country this year.
Ultimately, it was San Diego State who came on top of the conference’s regular season standings with a 15-3 MWC record. In Las Vegas, SDSU was victorious in all three games to claim its conference-leading seventh tournament title to give them an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
In addition to the four nonconference teams in the NCAA Tournament, the Aztecs faced three MWC teams – Nevada, Boise State, and Utah State – that would end up in the big dance.
Nearly three weeks since the Aztecs first heard its name in the NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday, they find themselves with the opportunity to not only claim the program but the school’s first Div. I National Championship on Monday, April 3 at 6 p.m. at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Here’s how the Aztecs earned their way into Monday’s Championship game.
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Round of 64: No. 5 San Diego State 63, No. 12 Charleston 57
The five-seeded Aztecs entered March Madness as a hot pick to be upset by No. 12 College of Charleston in the South Region.
But the SDSU players made sure their defense was better than Charleston, who was one of 18 teams in the country to average at least 80 points per game.
Although the Aztecs only shot 25% from beyond the arc, senior guard Matt Bradley scored a game-high 17 points with seven rebounds. Off the bench, SDSU got help from junior forward Jaedon LeDee, who had eight points and 10 of the team’s 40 rebounds.
The Aztecs, who limited the Cougars to 32.1% shooting overall and 20.8% from beyond the arc, made its free throws late to give them the six-point victory and Brian Dutcher’s first NCAA Tournament victory as a head coach.
Round of 32: No. 5 San Diego State 75, No. 13 Furman 52
SDSU looked to improve on its first-round win, trying to get to the program’s first Sweet 16 in nine years. However, it was not going to be easy as No. 13 Furman pulled off an upset over No. 4 Virginia in the first round with a three-pointer in the final seconds.
This was San Diego State’s most complete game of the tournament thus far, as they were able to stick to their defensive identity while scoring at a high clip.
Like Charleston, Furman was also a team that averaged at least 80 points per game. The Aztecs were lights out from the floor, knocking down 50% of their shots while forcing the Paladins to shoot 23% from beyond the arc and just 32% overall.
The Aztecs went on to record its largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament game as Dutcher was able to empty his bench in the game’s final minute.
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Sweet 16: No. 5 San Diego State 71, No. 1 Alabama 64
In two previous trips to the Sweet 16, the Aztecs lost both times in 2011 and 2014. But this roster, which had a few players from its 2019-20 team that went 30-2 and did not get a chance to compete in an NCAA Tournament, knew that this time was going to be different as SDSU faced the top team not only in the South Region but for the entire tournament in the Alabama Crimson Tide.
On the whiteboard in SDSU’s locker room, it read, “Defense and rebounding win championships.”
Even against the top team in the bracket, the Aztecs still had to stick to their identity as it was challenged with its third straight opponent to average at least 80 points per game.
As the Aztecs went up against some of the best players in the country, such as freshman forward Brandon Miller, a projected top pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, they relied on their experience and depth to pull out the win.
SDSU limited the Crimson Tide to just 11.1% from beyond the arc to advance to its first Elite Eight in program history. In addition, no other team from the Mountain West had previously reached the Elite Eight.
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Elite Eight: No. 5 San Diego State 57, No. 6 Creighton 56
After San Diego State’s first win against a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, SDSU was looking to get its revenge in last year’s first round following a 72-69 loss against Creighton.
Despite being 1,600 miles apart, SDSU and Creighton have seen each other a lot, not only after a year ago in March Madness. Both teams took the same charter flight to Hawaii to participate in the Maui Invitational in November.
Although the two teams did not face each other in Maui, they were bound to square off eventually, which came in the Elite Eight.
The matchup between the Aztecs and the Blue Jays came down to the final play. A somewhat controversial foul was called with 1.2 seconds remaining as Trammell drove to the basket with the game tied at 56.
Although Trammell missed the first free throw, he made the second. Creighton’s inbound pass was tipped as time expired, giving the SDSU its first trip to the Final Four in program history.
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Final Four: No. 5 San Diego State 72, No. 9 Florida Atlantic 71
Both San Diego State and Florida Atlantic entered this game as first-timers in the Final Four, as the Owls entered the game with the most wins this season. All tournament long, FAU was making its shots and pulled off upsets of their own, including against No. 4 Tennessee in the Elite 8 of the East Regional Finals.
Basketball is a game of runs and that was prevalent between the Aztecs and Owls. FAU scored the game’s first five points, but the Aztecs went on a 14-0 run before FAU scored at the 14:20 mark in the first half. Bradley’s 11 of his team-high 21 points came during the team’s first run.
Despite being down by 14 with 14:56 in the second half, the Aztecs clawed their way back, trailing by one with 36 seconds left.
FAU sophomore guard Johnell Davis let the clock go down and drove to the basket but the defense from SDSU emerged as senior Aguek Arop forced a bad shot which bricked off the backboard, allowing Arop’s teammate and fellow senior Nathan Mensah to grab the rebound.
Mensah then passed the ball to junior guard Lamont Butler with just seven seconds left on the game clock.
Butler, who had hit a game-winning three-pointer on Feb. 25 at New Mexico, was in the same situation dribbling up the court in the final seconds.
The 6-foot-2 guard made a mid-range jumper as time expired to cap off the fifth biggest comeback and the first buzzer-beater when trailing in Final Four history. It doesn’t get much better than that.