Aztecs hoping for better outcome
SDSU earns rematch with Connecticut
SAN DIEGO — The Connecticut Huskies pretty much wrecked every team they faced in the NCAA Tournament on the way to last year’s championship, and the first two games this March Madness look awfully familiar.
Up next is a wrinkle: A rematch with a San Diego State team that was outclassed in the title game a year ago and remembers it.
The Aztecs (26-10) think this year’s outcome can be different but know how tough that will be, especially with Thursday night’s East Region semifinal game being played in Boston, about an 85-mile drive for fans of the top-seeded Huskies (34-3).
“We’re excited to get off to Boston,” coach Brian Dutcher said Tuesday morning before the Aztecs headed to the airport for their cross-country flight. “The good news is, we’re not playing the Celtics. The bad news is, we’re playing Uconn. We’re ready for the challenge and we’re looking forward to it, and try to come out of there with a couple of victories.”
A year ago, the Aztecs went from the ecstasy of Lamont Butler’s buzzer-beating jumper against FAU in a national semifinal game to the pain of a 76-59 loss to Uconn in the national championship game. The Huskies built a double-digit lead in the first half before the Aztecs cut the lead to five points with about five minutes to go, only to watch the Huskies pull away again.
“A lot of new pieces on both teams, which will make it interesting,” Dutcher said. “If we can keep it close and give ourselves an opportunity to win the game at the end, I like our chances.”
Now they’re in the Sweet 16 in consecutive years for the first time, with an unenviable assignment.
“We know we’ve got to go through them again to get to where we want to be so we can’t wait,” Butler said.
Last year the Aztecs were a No. 5 seed and beat 12th-seeded College of Charleston in the first round and 13th-seeded Furman in the second round before upsetting No. 1 seed Alabama in the Sweet 16.
This year they’re on the same path, at least heading into the fourth Sweet 16 in program history. They beat 12th-seeded UAB in the first round and then routed 13th-seeded Yale in the second round in arguably their best game of the season.
It’s just that Uconn has won its first two tournament games by an average of 28 points.
“Weknowwecandoit.we did it last year and I think we can do it again,” Butler said about upsetting a No. 1 seed. “We’ve got the right pieces. We’ve just got to lock in and follow the game plan.”
Uconn lost Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins and Andre Jackson Jr. to the NBA from last year’s championship team. But this year’s team is a balanced and focused group and has looked even more dominant as it attempts to become the first program to repeat as NCAA champion since Florida in 2007.
The Huskies are led by guard Tristen Newton and big man Donovan Clingan, who stands 7 foot 2 and weighs 280 pounds.
“I still feel like they’re a little bit of a different team from last year,” said SDSU big man Jaedon Ledee, a third-team All-american. “They get in transition really well, so we’ve got to get back in transition. They play physical. They’re a good team, we’re a good team, so we’ve got to go out there and play.”