by Chris Ello on February 25, 2010
They’re going to finish with a final regular season record of 22-8, and they’re going to wind up tied for third-place in the Mountain West Conference with NCAA Tournament-bound UNLV.
Their resume will contain a solid victory over the 10th-ranked team in the country (and a win over UNLV) as well as a pair of two-point losses (one in overtime on the road) to the two teams that currently sit atop the MWC standings.
But will the SDSU men’s basketball team be invited to take part in March Madness? Or are they destined to be a No. 1-seed in the NIT for a second-consecutive year?
Let the speculation — and the sweating — begin.
The Aztecs could have most-likely punched their ticket to the Big Dance with a victory Wednesday night at 13th-ranked BYU. But after rallying from 11 points down late in the first half to forge a 44-44 tie midway through the second, SDSU succumbed at the Marriott Center, 82-68.
The win was the 21st-straight at home for BYU (26-3, 11-2), which completed a regular-season sweep of the Aztecs for a second consecutive season and remained a half-game behind New Mexico (26-3, 12-2) for the conference lead. SDSU, which earned its fifth-consecutive 20-win season by beating Utah on Saturday night, fell to 20-8 (9-5 in the MWC).
Meanwhile, at Viejas Arena on Wednesday night, Paris Johnson scored a season-high 24 points including the go-ahead bucket with 35 seconds remaining as the SDSU women’s team knocked off BYU, 73-71, and knocked the Cougars out of a first-place tie with TCU.
Despite the victory, Beth Burns’ lady Aztecs (16-10, 8-6) only figure to return to the NCAA Tournament for a second-consecutive season by winning the MWC Postseason Tournament, which begins in two weeks in Las Vegas.
The same may be required for Steve Fisher’s men’s team, which could have removed itself from the nerve-wracking NCAA bubble with a win in Provo. However, with star freshman Continue Reading →
by Chris Ello on February 21, 2010
Aztec Center Paris Johnson Grabbed Just 4 Rebounds -- None in the First half -- of Sunday's Loss at Utah
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — If anything ever seemed like it was a sure thing, that was it. The San Diego State women’s basketball team, with four starters returning from last year’s 24-8 squad that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and the solid preseason favorites to win this year’s Mountain West Conference championship, would return to the postseason this coming March.
Then again, nothing’s ever a sure thing when it comes to San Diego State sports. Really, we all should understand that by now.
What’s difficult to understand is what has happened to the lady Aztecs, who were squashed yet again here Sunday afternoon, 73-55, by the Utah Utes. In losing for the fourth time in five games, SDSU (15-10, 7-6 MWC) dropped into a fourth-place tie with Wyoming and New Mexico, three games behind the league-leading pace set by TCU and BYU with three games to play.
A return to the NCAA Tournament seems quite unlikely now, unless SDSU can rediscover its mojo in time for the MWC Postseason Tournament, which gets underway in 2 1/2 weeks. Almost assured of no better than a third- or fourth-place finish in the regular season standings, the Aztecs will have to win three (and maybe four) games in five days to claim an invite to the Big Dance.
“Once again our energy level just wasn’t where it needed to be for 40 full minutes, and that’s disappointing,” said Coach Beth Burns, who had helped cajole this team from also-ran status just three seasons ago to the level of championship contender and a No. 23-national ranking back in November. “We worked so hard the last couple of seasons to get the respect, but we haven’t worked hard enough to keep it.”
Effort — or lack thereof — is as good a place as any to start when trying to figure out SDSU’s many triviales during this trying, and frankly very discouraging season. Utah (16-9, 7-5) simply appeared to want Sunday’s game more, attacking the rim throughout in order to earn a lopsided 21-6 Continue Reading →
