HOUSTON – Ladies and gentlemen, after a thrilling March, we’ve made it to the national championship.
Sixty-Four teams entered, only two remain.
So, who’s coming out on top: the San Diego State Aztecs or the UConn Huskies?
Let’s take a look at how both teams got to this point.
San Diego State
The San Diego State Aztecs have been making noise in the NCAA Tournament, but that should not come as a surprise. San Diego State dominated its opponents all season, going 32-6 with an average margin of victory of over 7.5 points. The Aztecs ended the season ranked in the AP Top 25 as the 18th best team in the country.
This season, the Aztecs were led in scoring by senior guard Matt Bradley, who averaged 12.7 points per game.
San Diego State brought home multiple Mountain West awards, including:
•Nathan Mensah, Sr., F: Defensive Player of the Year, Third-team All Conference
•Lamont Butler, Jr., G: Third-team All Conference, All Defensive team
The newly-crowned Mountain West champions secured the No. 5 seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament.
In order to make it to the national title game, the Aztecs had to face No. 12 seed Charleston (63-57), No. 13 seed Furman (75-52), No. 1 seed Alabama (71-64), No. 6 seed Creighton (57-56) and No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic (72-71).
In the Final Four semifinal against FAU, San Diego State accomplished the “impossible”, having to overcome a 14-point Owls lead.
With about forty seconds left in the game, the Aztecs were down 71-70. As FAU was trying to wind down the clock and score, it missed the layup and San Diego State recovered the rebound with 7.5 seconds remaining.
The Aztecs drove down the court, and with .8 second left in the game, Butler pulled a midrange jumper. As time expired, the ball went through the net.
San Diego State won 72-71, sending it to the national championship for the first time in program history.
UConn Huskies
The UConn Huskies have been one of the most dominant teams in college basketball this season. The Huskies went 30-8 and beat opponents by over 14 points. This average margin of victory was the second highest in college basketball, behind Houston (+17.4).
This season, UConn was led in scoring by junior forward Adama Sonogo, who averaged 17.2 points while shooting 60% from the field. Sonogo also led the team in rebounds, averaging 7.2 per game.
The Huskies were also able to acquire multiple Big East awards, including:
•Adama Sanogo, F, Jr.: First-Team All Big East
•Alex Karaban, F, Fr.: Big East All Freshman Team (Unanimous)
•Donovan Clingan, C, Fr. Big East All Freshman Team
In order to make it to the national championship game, UConn had to beat No. 13 seed Iona (87-63), No. 5 seed St. Mary’s (70-55), No. 8 seed Arkansas (88-65), No. 3 seed Gonzaga (82-54), and No. 5 seed Miami (FL) (72-59).
In the Final Four semifinal against Miami, the Huskies manhandled the Hurricanes from the opening tip. Going into halftime, UConn amassed a 37-24 lead that Miami couldn’t come back from.
The statement that this game was over came with 7:14 left in the game when junior guard Andre Jackson Jr. got loose on a fast break and threw down an electric dunk. After this, it appeared Miami lost all hopes of a comeback.
UConn went on to win 72-59.
The NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship will be held Monday, Apr. 3. at NRG Stadium in Houston. This highly anticipated matchup between San Diego State and UConn will tip off at 9:20 p.m. EST.
