Jaedon LeDee recorded 26 points and nine rebounds and San Diego State never trailed while posting an easy 85-57 victory over Yale on Sunday night at Spokane, Wash., in second-round play in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament.
Darrion Trammell established season highs of 18 points and four 3-pointers for the fifth-seeded Aztecs (26-10). San Diego State made a season-best 13 treys (in 27 attempts) and led by as many as 31 points.
Bez Mbeng scored 12 points and Matt Knowling added 11 for 13th-seeded Yale (23-10). John Poulakidas was scoreless in the first half and had just nine points on 2-of-9 shooting for the Bulldogs.
Poulakidas scored 28 points in the Bulldogs’ stunning 78-76 upset of fourth-seeded Auburn in the first round on Friday. That victory was Yale’s second NCAA tourney win in school history.
San Diego State will face No. 1 seed UConn in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Boston. It is a rematch of last season’s national championship game won by the Huskies.
The Aztecs, who shot 52.7 percent overall and held a 39-25 rebounding advantage, have reached the Sweet 16 in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history.
The Bulldogs shot 37 percent from the field, including 7 of 19 from behind the arc.
LeDee had 17 points and seven rebounds in the first half as the Aztecs led 45-21 at the break.
San Diego State scored the first 10 points of the game and never again was threatened.
LeDee delivered back-to-back dunks to cap an 11-0 surge to give the Aztecs a 28-12 advantage with 8:15 remaining in the first half.
Trammell accounted for the final points of the half with a four-point play with 43.5 seconds left.
Poulakidas made three free throws 63 seconds into the second half for his first points. His first made field goal came when he drained a 3-pointer with 16:20 left to cap an 8-0 run that left Yale trailing by 21.
A 3-pointer by San Diego State’s Miles Byrd pushed the lead to 30 for the first time at 71-41 with 9:25 remaining.
–Field Level Media