HOUSTON, TEXAS – APRIL 01: Lamont Butler #5 of the San Diego State Aztecs celebrates with teammates after making a game winning basket to defeat the Florida Atlantic Owls 72-71 during the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Final Four semifinal game at NRG Stadium on April 01, 2023 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)
The two teams in this national championship game really could not be coming from more different places, and I’m not just talking about San Diego, CA and Storrs, CT.
The Aztecs are in their first Final Four (shoot, they just played in their first Elite Eight). The Huskies are looking for their 5th national championship, which would tie Duke and Indiana for the 4th-most all time. Only UCLA, Kentucky, and North Carolina have more.
Go, Aztecs!
UConn won their first title in 1999, the same year Steve Fisher arrived on Montezuma Mesa to take over a program that was in such a bad state that he had to walk around campus handing out tickets asking students to attend games for a team some of them didn’t even know existed. And if that wasn’t enough history working against them, the Aztecs are trying to become the first 5th-seed EVER to win a national title. They would also be the first school from a mid-major conference to win a championship since 1990 when UNLV came out of the Big West and won it all.
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So, no, these programs have not taken the same roads to this Final Four.
Connecticut is a heavy betting favorite (-7.5 points) and rightfully so. They’ve steamrolled their way through the NCAA Tournament, laying waste to anyone who dares to oppose them. The Huskies have won by an average of 20 points a game and there’s no curve buster in the group. All their meetings have resulted in double digit blowouts.
Conversely, the Aztecs have been squeaking through by the skin of their teeth. They’ve beaten just one team by double digits (Furman) and won their last two games by one point, a point that was scored with fewer than 4 seconds left on the clock each time. That has never happened before in the NCAA Tournament. They beat Alabama, the number one overall seed, in the Sweet 16 but this is probably going to be their toughest test of the year because right now nobody is as hot as the Huskies.
Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins are really, really, ridiculously good. Sanogo is the first UConn player ever to have more than 100 points and 40 rebounds in a single NCAA Tournament. When you think about how many 1st round NBA Draft picks that program has produced (21 to be exact) you realize how impressive that is. He and Hawkins combine for 36 points and 12 boards a game.
HOWEVER, and we seem to say this a lot, they haven’t seen a team that plays defense like the Aztecs. Connecticut can score from the 3-point line and close to the basket. Most teams have to deploy a “pick your poison” approach, taking away one thing and hoping they don’t get torched by the other. SDSU can defend both styles of play.
It’s on offense that the Aztecs have the biggest question marks. Senior guard Matt Bradley is their most gifted scorer and finally found his shot in the win over FAU, scoring a team-high 21 points. The teams that have beaten the Huskies this year have been balanced and deep, often having four or five players scoring in double figures.
If the Aztecs get another big game from Bradley then have a second shooter get hot from long range, perhaps a Micah Parrish or Adam Seiko, along with a scoring presence in the paint like Nathan Mensah or Jaedon LeDee then they will have a chance to win their first national championship. Or, you know, just keep it close until there’s a second left and let Lamont Butler work his magic.
Tipoff is set for 6:20 pm San Diego time. No matter what happens, this Aztecs club will go down as one of the greatest teams in the history of San Diego sports.
