It’s that time of the year again and every college basketball fan’s favorite month. That’s right-the madness of March is upon us.
The San Diego State Aztecs are headed to the big dance once again. These young men are hoping for a deep run or to at least win a NCAA tournament game for the fourth consecutive season in a row.
There is no question that SDSU will make its fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, once again led by by head coach Steve Fisher. With the men’s basketball team being ranked the 10th best team in the nation, the only question is what seed the Aztecs will receive come March 16, selection Sunday?
Early in February, the Aztecs looked poised for a one seed, railing off 20 victories in a row and being ranked 5th best team in the nation. Despite the early success, SDSU’s ranking has slipped as of late after disappointing conference road losses to unranked University of Wyoming and an embarrassing loss to the University of New Mexico where the Aztecs only scored 44 points.
On Feb. 6, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi projected the Aztecs as a No. 2 seed in his NCAA tournament bracket. However, in his latest bracket he has them ranked as a pedestrian 5 seed. This puts SDSU in a dreaded 5-12 matchup where many first-round upsets occur.
Conversely, I disagree with this atrocious projection and believe that the Aztecs still make a great case for a two seed if not a No. 1.
Why? you may be wondering. Well, there are many reasons why the SDSU men’s basketball team deserves a high seed and an easy road in the upcoming NCAA tournament.
First, the basketball team has the 5th best record in the nation at (27-3) and an RPI in the top 20 as well. Second, they also possess notable victories against No. 8 in the nation, the University of Kansas, and projected as a number one seed, Marquette University and No. 13 in the nation Creighton University, which is projected as a No. 3 seed. Finally, the Aztecs were also impressive in their early loss to Arizona, where they were very competitive until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Arizona is ranked No. 3 in the nation, projected as a number one seed and has the best RPI in the country.
Hopefully the selection committee looks at the big picture when it comes to SDSU’s season, because if they give out the top seeds based on a “what have you done for me lately” system there is no way the Aztecs will land the seed they are wishing for.
The No. 1 thing that hurts SDSU’s chance at a top seed is the competition it faces. The Aztec’s strength of schedule is ranked 133rd in the nation, and their non-conference strength of schedule does not help by being ranked 127th. Being in the Mountain West Conference makes it very difficult for any team to get a top seed in the tournament because of the lack of teams in the AP Top 25 Poll in the conference. SDSU and New Mexico are the only teams in the conference in the top 25.
The best-case scenario would be for SDSU to not lose the rest of the season and win the MW tournament. That’s easier said than done, because the Aztecs will most likely face New Mexico in the MWC Championship game, a team that has already defeated them.
If the Aztecs can achieve this goal they will finish 31-3 and have their best record since the 2010-11 season. That season the Aztecs finished 34-3, but still only received a disappointing three seed in the NCAA tournament. The team took that three seed and ran with it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen, the farthest any SDSU team has ever gone.
A MW tournament championship, a 31-3 record and wins against Kansas and Creighton should be enough to get SDSU at least a No. 3 seed in this year’s tournament. Perhaps that means another trip to the Sweet Sixteen for the Aztecs—maybe more.
Photo by Wesley Beights, Staff Photographer.
