The San Diego State Aztecs and Connecticut Huskies are set to tip off in NCAA Tournament play Thursday night. This game will take place at the TD Garden in Boston. This is a rematch of the National title game of a year ago, where the Huskies beat the Aztecs by 17 points.
The San Diego State Aztecs are 26-10 on the season. The Mountain West saw six teams get into the big dance, and the Aztecs finished fifth in the conference. San Diego State beat UAB in the first round, and then Yale in the second to reach this game.
For the Connecticut Huskies, they are the top seed in the East. The Huskies have won eight straight NCAA Tournament games, including blowout wins over Stetson and Northwestern this season. UConn sits at 33-3 on the season.
The Huskies come into the game at -10.5 over the Aztecs. The total for this game is listed at 135.5 points.
Quiet but Talented Aztecs
Brian Dutcher and the San Diego State Aztecs are one of the quietest successful college basketball programs around. Very little talk about the Aztecs, and here they are, back in the Sweet 16. In the two NCAA Tournament games so far, San Diego State has outscored opponents 77-61.
In the win over Yale, Jaedon LeDee was fantastic. He played just 29 minutes and scored 26 points. He has been red hot, with 20+ points in six straight games. On the season, he was the top scorer for San Diego State, with 21.5 points per game. In fact, LeDee is the lone player for San Diego State scoring double digits per game.
San Diego State beat Utah State in the conference tournament, but then fell to New Mexico. The Aztecs to start the season won their first game, before losing on the road at Brigham Young. San Diego State also took a pre Christmas loss to Grand Canyon.
Red Hot Huskies
In the win over Northwestern, the UConn Huskies led 40-18 at halftime. It seemed like they took their foot off the gas in the second half, and lost it by five. It was plenty enough to win the game. The Huskies used a big game from Tristen Newton, as he scored 20 and dished out 10 assists.
Newton Is the top scorer on a team that has five guys scoring double digits per game. Danny Hurley does not care who puts the ball in the basketball for UConn. Newton is at 15.3 points per game. Cam Spencer sits at 14.4, Alex Karaban at 13.7 and Donovan Clingan is averaging 12.8 per game.
The Huskies won the Big East regular season title, and conference tournament. The three losses this season for UConn came at Kansas, at Seton Hall, and also on the road at the Creighton Blue Jays.
Can’t Slow Down Huskies
There is not much that can slow down the Connecticut Huskies in this one. The Aztecs have had another really good season, and are a talented team.
But, when push comes to shove, the Huskies are going to win this game. You have to play really good basketball to beat the Huskies, and even many times when you do, you still lose. The final bet for this game is the UConn Huskies -10.5 over the San Diego State Aztecs.
We will go with a final score of 79-61 UConn over San Diego State.
