San Diego State Basketball: Keys to victory over Creighton in Round of 64

Matt Bradley must have a big game

It is no secret that San Diego State’s offense runs through Matt Bradley. The star guard is performing at a level that has only elevated from his time playing at Cal; In his first season with SDSU, Bradley is averaging seventeen points and five rebounds per game, and his consistency throughout the season has earned him 1st-Team All-Mountain West honors, as well as the Mountain West’s Newcomer of the Year award.

Sure, Bradley has had his quiet moments in a handful of games, but this is a rare occurrence: When the Aztecs need plays, head coach Brian Dutcher is likely drawing up ways to get the ball into Matt Bradley’s hands.

That being said, it’s not unusual for teams to rely heavily on one or two star players, but San Diego State’s offense as a whole has struggled throughout the 2021-22 season (An interesting tidbit: SDSU is 22–0 when scoring over sixty points in a game; They are 1–8 when scoring sixty or less). This is something that needs to be addressed as the First Round of the NCAA Tournament looms.

The Aztecs are averaging around sixty-five points a game, though they are having trouble finding consistent complimentary play to Bradley, especially struggling to find points when Bradley is being shut down. The rest of San Diego State’s starting rotation (and next four highest–scoring Aztec players) average around seven to eight points per game, with point guard Trey Pulliam (pictured above) leading the bunch in this regard.

This isn’t to say that SDSU is lacking on the end of talent. Au contraire, San Diego State has an extensive depth of players that are talented and see the court often. Among them, sophomores Lamont Butler and Chad Baker-Mazara have been absolutely fantastic at times, and have the presence to dynamically alter a game’s momentum at any given time.

The issue then is not talent, nor depth, but translating that talent and depth to points. Per Sports Reference, Creighton’s offense averages sixty-nine points per game, allowing opponents nearly sixty-six points a game. This plays perfectly to the Aztecs’ defensive style of play, and if SDSU can balance their consistently stellar defensive play with just a spark of offense (especially in compliment to Matt Bradley) – The Aztecs can dictate the outcome of their game against the Bluejays thoroughly.

Of course, this is easier said than done. Creighton is a great team and has its own plethora of incredible players.

This leads me to the next area of focus for the Aztecs…