San Diego State Basketball: 3 keys to an Aztecs’ NCAA Tournament run

San Diego State basketball has made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015, and they appear to be peaking at the right time.

San Diego State is set to begin its NCAA Tournament in Wichita, where it will play Houston followed by a game against either Michigan or Montana. After beginning the season as a less than stellar team, the Aztecs have shown growth, which has turned them into a team that could make some noise.

Heading into the Mountain West Tournament, the San Diego State Aztecs knew that the only way to make the tournament was to win three games in a row and capture the title. Despite being one of the hottest teams in the country, they were still far from the favorite. After easily dispatching Fresno State and rolling over the regular season champion Nevada, the Aztecs won a battle with New Mexico to cut down the nets.

Now, heading into the NCAA Tournament, the Aztecs are a No. 11 seed and many do not expect them to get out of their tough first-round matchup with Houston. However, the way the Aztecs have played lately, they could easily be one of this March’s surprise teams.

With a new head coach and relatively young team, San Diego State will need to be completely focused on playing their game. If they can’t control the tempo and get flustered by some of the excellent defenses they could face, the Aztecs will be heading home.

So what are the three keys that could spark a San Diego State run in the 2018 NCAA Tournament?