NCAA Basketball: 3 teams underrated in way-too-early 2022-23 polls
San Diego State
National Media Rankings:
ESPN: Unranked
Sports Illustrated: Unranked
CBS Sports (Updated): Unranked
Bleacher Report: Unranked
San Diego State is going unnoticed right now and a lot of the reason is the result of their first-round game. The Aztecs led for the majority of their first-round game against Creighton, but the Bluejays’ comeback and victory are allowing them to get a ton of hype in early rankings. However, Brian Dutcher should have another really good team in 2022-23.
It’s impossible to talk about San Diego State without mentioning how elite their defense was. The Aztecs finished the season as the number two defensive team in the country. That defense was apparent against Creighton as the Bluejays turned the ball over 20 times in that game. The SDSU defense should be elite again as all of their players who played at least 250 possessions had a Defensive Bayesian Performance Rating of 13 or higher according to Evanmiya.com.
The returners include Matt Bradley who led the team in scoring last season at almost 17 points per game. Lamont Butler and Keshad Johnson also return as the team’s third and fourth-leading scorers last year and Butler was also the team’s top defender.
Brian Dutcher also did a great job utilizing the portal already by adding Darrion Trammell. Trammell averaged over 17 points per game last year at Seattle and shot over 34% from three in the process.
Trammell, along with a potential Nathan Mensah return could be huge for the Aztecs who should already be a solid team next season. Also, watch out for TCU transfer Jaedon LeDee and Chad Baker-Mazara from Duquesne. Baker-Mazara especially had a huge game in the first round.
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The defense will lead the way again for the Aztecs, but the addition of Trammell and the development of Butler should make the team much better offensively as well. Regardless of whatever happens with Colorado State, San Diego State should be the Mountain West favorite.
Current Ranking: 17