Alabama Basketball: 3 keys to beating San Diego State in Sweet 16 matchup
By Justin Wiles
Force the Aztecs to play at a faster pace
This season Alabama has easily been one of the best offenses in the country. They play with a pace that most teams struggle to match. The Tide averaged over 80 points per game this year, and so far in the tournament have averaged 84.5 points per game. San Diego State on the other hand prefers to play at a much slower more deliberate pace, holding their opponents to under 64 points on the season. Only to better that number in the NCAA Tournament, holding both of their opponents under 57 points in the first two rounds.
Alabama’s high-powered offense, led by freshman star Brandon Miller (19.1 ppg), likes to put up a ton of shots. The Tide put up over 60 shots per game and roughly half of them come from behind the three-point arc. The fast pace also forces their opponents into fouls, giving them chances to score with the clock stopped. Alabama makes over 16 free throws per game this season.
San Diego State’s defense, 63 ppg allowed, will need to be at the top of their game to have any of taking down Alabama. Facing the Tide is a matchup nightmare for the Aztecs, as they only score about 72 points per game this season. San Diego State has a relatively deep rotation but out of the 9 players averaging over 15 minutes per game only one scores in double-digits, guard Matt Bradley averages 13 points per game.