After capturing the Mountain West Conference tournament in dramatic fashion over UNLV, the San Diego State Aztecs had nothing to sweat about during Selection Sunday. The only questions were: seeding, location, and opponent.
The answers: #11, Providence, Rhode Island, and Tennessee.
It’s not a fan-friendly trip for Aztecs supporters, but the Volunteers present a challenging but beatable opponent.
After learning their fate, members of the SDSU basketball team met with the media to talk about their amazing tournament championship, and the quest to pick up the Aztecs’ first win in the NCAAs.
Aztecs’ point guard D.J. Gay joined 619 Sports’ Craig Elsten to discuss his clutch, ironman performance in Las Vegas:
MWC Freshman of the Year Kawhi Leonard spoke to 619 Sports about his growth curve, and fulfilling the dream of reaching the Big Dance:
For the second consecutive year, both the SDSU men and women have reached the finals of the Mountain West Conference tournament. The Aztec men did it in heart-stopping fashion for a second-straight day, knocking off No. 8-ranked New Mexico, 72-69, to not only reach the championship round, but also — more importantly — all but officially clinch a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Bracketologists everywhere have now moved SDSU (24-8) from the nerve-racking neighborhood of the bubble belt to the cushy surroundings of lock-city regardless of what happens in today’s men’s final against host UNLV. In beating the regular-season champion Lobos for the second time this season, and snapping their 15-game winning streak, the Aztecs have advanced their RPI ranking all the way into the nation’s Top 25.
“We’ve lost only four games all season, and two of them are to San Diego State,” said the conference’s Coach of the Year, New Mexico’s Steve Alford. “We’ve won six games over Top 25 teams, and that Aztec team is as good if not better than any of them.”
Meanwhile, Beth Burns’ lady Aztecs displayed all of their many talents in a 77-47 dismantling of BYU in Friday’s women’s semifinals. SDSU (20-10) is in the conference tournament final for a third-consecutive season but, unlike the previous two years, must win today to be NCAA bound. If the Aztecs play anything like they did against the second-seeded Cougars, defending MWC champ Utah won’t stand a chance in a reprise of last year’s final, which was won by the Utes, 63-58.
“We’ve got our eyes on the prize and we’re playing really well,” said Burns, whose hard-to-figure preseason conference favorites stumbled throughout the regular season but have now won their last five straight. “It’s March, and it’s a whole different deal at this point.”
In a city built on star power, San Diego State basketball has showcased its bevy of headliners all week long at the Thomas & Mack Center, the men winning twice over Colorado State and now New Mexico, and the women winning twice as well over Wyoming and now BYU.
The stars for the Aztec men came in the form of shooting-stars in the men’s semifinal against New Mexico. All season plagued by poor outside shooting, SDSU found the range Friday, knocking down 10 of their 16 three-point attempts. Freshman Kawhi Leonard, a 19-percent three-point shooter on the season, set the tone for the evening by knocking down back-to-back three’s to open the scoring and help SDSU race out to an 11-0 lead.
ShareCBS lead college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg thinks there’s a strong possibility the Mountain West Conference can get four teams into the field of 65. But could a team from the Pac-10 steal away SDSU’s bid? Kellogg joined 619 Sports to preview the selection of the 2010 NCAA tournament field:
Share
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Seriously, if I had the answers, I’d own this place rather than just visiting it.
But you want to know what’s going to happen with the SDSU men’s and women’s basketball teams here this week in the Mountain West Conference tournament, so I’ll go ahead and give it my best shot.
Let’s start [...]
The Mountain West Conference tournament is getting started in Las Vegas, and for the San Diego State basketball programs, the only sure path to the Big Dance is to cut down the nets. Craig and Chris break down the Aztecs’ at-large hopes:
Over three seasons together in SDSU’s back court, seniors Quenese Davis (above) and Jene Morris have helped transform the Aztec women’s basketball team from bottom-of-the-barrel losers into conference champions. The duo sat down with 619Sports.net on the eve of their final regular season home game, Saturday afternoon (Viejas Arena, 2 p.m.) against Air Force.
ShareFORT COLLINS, Colo. — This Saturday two of the greatest players ever to play women’s basketball for San Diego State, Jene Morris and Quenese Davis, will play in their final home game when the Aztecs host Air Force (Viejas Arena, 2 p.m.).
Having already helped to resurrect the SDSU program, carrying it from the depths of rock [...]
Share
After a thrilling Aztecs win in Thursday’s game one of the cross-town rivalry, the Toreros fought back in a tough pitchers duel to record the 2-0 victory on Friday.
USD got a big game out of top lefty pitcher Sammy Solis in the game-two victory of the “Black and Blue Series” that has thus far lived [...]
A win at 13th-ranked BYU on Wednesday night might have punched a ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the SDSU men’s basketball team. But, led by Jimmer Fredette (above, 26 pts.), the Cougars kept the Aztecs squarely on the March Madness bubble, 82-68… Meanwhile, at Viejas Arena, the SDSU women knocked BYU out of the MWC lead, 73-71.
