Against a four-seeded University of Connecticut team who has had no games decided by less than 10 during this NCAA Tournament, the five-seeded San Diego State University gave the Huskies enough freedom to grow an irreversible lead.
The Aztecs fell just short of their National Championship hopes as they fell to the Huskies, 76-59 on Monday, April 4.
The Aztecs started off hot, going 4-of-4 from the field, but then a hypothermic temperature switch changed the narrative.
The Aztecs went 0-of-14 from the 16:32 mark in the first half, following a turnaround jumper by senior guard Matt Bradley, all the way up until the 5:25 mark, where senior guard Darrion Trammell’s floater finally broke the cold streak.
“We had to be at our best,” head coach Brian Dutcher said. “We weren’t at our best and a lot of that had to do with UConn.”
The Aztecs ended the first half down 13, at 37-24. Not an entirely irreversible lead — In fact, it was only two 3-pointers larger than the lead the Florida Atlantic University Owls had at halftime in the Final Four. But the difference between the Owls and the Huskies strategically, offensively and defensively is drastic.
The Huskies have a much wider array of options down low and outside on the perimeter. Junior Adama Sanogo was constantly a problem for the Aztec bigs in the paint, ending with 17 points and 10 rebounds, as well as freshman 7’2 center Donovan Clingan coming off the bench. The guards Tristan Newton and Jordan Hawkins were hot all night as well, shooting a combined 10-of-20 from the field en route to a combined 35 points.
The Husky defense was also tremendous, as it had been all tournament. The championship game marked the sixth occasion (of six possible) in which the Huskies held their opponents to under 40% from the field. The Aztecs went 28.6% from the field in the first half to the Huskies’ 50%.
The Huskies were running the Aztecs out of the gym for the majority of the first half; sprinting down the court on fast breaks, moving the ball well, cutting to the basket and creating actions for the big men.
“I’m not going to lie, they have a lot of weapons,” Bradley said. “They have a lot of weapons. To beat them, we had to make shots. I shot poorly. And you have to have a really good game to beat those dudes on the offensive end.”
Along with a combination of untimely fouls on defense, the hole was too big for the Aztecs to dig out of despite making a late push.
“We did our best to hit them and secure rebounds, but then we also got in a little foul trouble early in the half,” senior guard Adam Seiko said. “13-minute mark they’re already in the bonus, which was tough. Hawkins hit some timely shots. But they have a really good team. They’re well coached.”
Due to the lead the Huskies managed to build and hold onto, the Aztecs struggled to get the lead under 10 in the second half. With 7:40 left the Aztecs finally broke the lead to less than 10 and from there, the Aztecs managed to shrink the lead to five after two free throws by senior Keshad Johnson with 5:19 to go. Yet the composure and talent of the Huskies prevailed.
Hawkins hit a 3-pointer immediately following Johnson’s free throws and the Huskies continued to build, scoring six more points before the Aztecs would add another.
“They’re great offensively,” Dutcher said. “You know, eventually, they made a timely basket or two. We didn’t. They’re hard to score on. Their length bothered us around the rim.
“We thought we’d have a chance, we cut it to five, but obviously we didn’t have enough offense to overcome as good as they are.”
It ended in the Huskies favor, a 17-point win for one of the most dominant teams throughout this NCAA Tournament.
But never to be forgotten: the 2022-23 SDSU men’s basketball team who defied all odds and made SDSU history all while bringing the San Diego community closer than it has ever been.
