After all the madness, drama and upsets thus far in this year’s NCAA March Madness tournament, the fourth seeded San Diego State Aztecs will do something that’s only been done once before in school history: playing in the round of 16.
A tough task awaits them in the west region as the No.1 seeded University of Arizona Wildcats have dominated all year, and have started strong in the first two games of this tournament. The two teams are no strangers to each other as they meet for the second time this season. Dating back to their first meeting on Nov. 14, 2013, SDSU fell to the Wildcats at home, 69-60.
Tonight’s game will be played at 7:17 p.m. on neutral ground at the Honda Center in Anaheim, and will be aired live on TBS. Many Aztec fans are expected to show as the Honda Center is roughly a one-and-a-half hour drive north from their home court at Viejas Arena.
Junior forward J.J. O’Brien is hoping this will be more of a home game for SDSU. He explained at the pregame press conference how playing in Anaheim has treated the Aztecs well.
[quote]“Anaheim has been good to us this year. We won that tournament there (the DirecTV Wooden Legacy); we beat UCLA there last year,” O’Brien said. “We know our fans are going to be there in full force, so, yeah, we’re hoping it’s like a home game in there.”[/quote]
Here’s a breakdown and prediction of how both teams match up:
Offense:
There may not be a better duo in the west of college basketball than UA junior guard Nick Johnson and freshman forward Aaron Gordon. They’ve led the Wildcats all year, winning the Pac-12 regular season conference and currently hold an astounding 32-4 record. Johnson is a Naismith National Player of the Year candidate averaging 16.3 points and 2.8 assists per game, while Gordon won the Pac-12 freshman of the year honor, averaging 12.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in addition to shooting 49 percent from the field this season.
Despite losing sophomore forward Brandon Ashley after 22 games, Arizona still has depth offensively. Junior guard T.J. McConnell seems to always do the right thing with the ball, leading the Wildcats with 5.5 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
From watching the first two games of the tournament, you can see how heavily the Aztecs rely on senior guard Xavier Thames to do most of the scoring. He played outrageously in SDSU’s previous game against North Dakota State University where he scored 30 points, bumping his season average up to 16.8 points per game.
Sophomore guard Winston Shepard is the only player other than Thames who averages double figures in scoring. If the X-Factor struggles to have a great scoring night, other players will need to step up to avoid being challenged offensively to hang with the Wildcats’ talented offense.
Edge: Wildcats
Defense:
Both teams are outstanding defensively. SDSU allows just 56.6 points per game and ranks second in the nation. Arizona ranks fifth overall, defensively allowing 58.3 points per game. Senior forward Josh Davis has been a monster on the glass for the Aztecs all year averaging 9.9 rebounds per game, while sophomore forward Skylar Spencer is averaging 2.5 blocks per game. SDSU ranks 32nd overall in blocks per game as a team, while the Wildcats rank 103rd overall. The Aztecs have the advantage defensively as they still rank second in the nation in points allowed, and both Spencer and Davis’ defensive statistics show us why.
Edge: Aztecs
Intangibles:
In addition to five straight NCAA tournament appearances from the Aztecs, this will be their second appearance ever in the Sweet 16. After completing a remarkable season of winning the Mountain West regular season championship title, don’t forget how they defeated UCLA last year and won the DirecTV Wooden Legacy tournament this year, all at the same venue.
It’s no secret how Anaheim has been good to SDSU as of late, and the Aztecs will look to continue their recent success of winning games at the Honda Center.
The last time the Aztecs lost at the Honda Center was during the 2011 season in their Sweet 16 appearance against the University of Connecticut. Eventually, Uconn ended up being the national champions that season. SDSU will not face Ashley this time around because of his season-ending injury.
Arizona has also not seen junior guard Aqeel Quinn and junior forward Dwayne Polee II, who both did not appear in their first meeting this season—Expect Anaheim to be filled with black and red as the surprising success of SDSU basketball has fans excited for this game and looking to seek revenge. As the two outstanding defensive teams prepare to battle, I expect a low-scoring game with the Aztecs coming out on top this time around.
Edge: Aztecs
Prediction:
SDSU 65 Arizona 61
Photo by Jordan Owen, Senior Staff Photographer.
