Maybe there's something in the number five. Prior to 2023, San Diego State had won six total games in the NCAA Tournament. During that time they had never been seeded fifth in the tournament.
Over the past two years, the Aztecs have been a five seed and won ... six tourney tilts. And they're not done yet, although they might want to make the next one a little less tense.
SDSU opened March Madness with a stress-inducing 69-65 win over the University of Alabama-Birmingham on Friday morning in Spokane, Washington. As expected, the Aztecs rode their All-American and one of the nation's best defenses to victory.
Senior forward Jaedon LeDee established his presence immediately. Not only did he score 18 points in the first half, he got both of UAB's starting forwards in foul trouble. Yaxel Lendeborg, the Blazers' leading scorer and rebounder, and Christian Coleman combined for two points before the break because they had to sit on the bench with three fouls each.
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Everything seemed to be going the Aztecs' way. SDSU had 10 steals and forced 12 turnovers, but they only led 35-29 at the break because, after a hot shooting start, they went into a cold stretch, going 1-for-12 from the field to finish the half. That one make was on a Lamont Butler steal and dunk.
After the break, the Aztecs still had trouble finding their shot and it let the Blazers back in it. UAB guard Efrem "Butta" Johnson caught fire. The sophomore from Huntsville hit a pair of three-pointers and a pull-up jumper to give the 12 seed a 51-49 lead with less than 10 minutes to play. It was their first lead of the entire game and suddenly an upset was very much a possibility.
When the Aztecs needed him most, LeDee was there.
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With Lendeborg trying not to foul out, LeDee took over in the paint, scoring 8 of the Aztecs next 10 points. Filling in the blanks was Butler, hitting a layup and a jumper to supplement LeDee's dominance. Together they scored 14 consecutive SDSU points. LeDee iced it with four straight free throws and a pair of massive rebounds, finishing with 32 points and eight boards to avoid what would have been a giant upset.
San Diego State will play its 2nd round game on Sunday in Spokane against, surprisingly, Yale. The Bulldogs knocked off Auburn 78-76, and this is suddenly setting up in an eerily similar fashion to last year's tournament. SDSU won as a 5-seed, the 13 upset the 4 (Furman over Virginia), setting up a game against the top overall seed (Alabama). If the Aztecs win again, they are almost guaranteed to run into Connecticut, the #1 overall seed, in the Sweet 16.
