NCAA Tournament 2023: Ranking the surprise Elite 8 teams left in the field
By Joey Loose
4. 5 San Diego State
In recent years, San Diego State has been the best program in a very good Mountain West, but it’s taken until this year for everything to come together for the Aztecs. There was incredible talent at San Diego State, and this program could’ve done major damage in 2020 had the pandemic not wiped out that Tournament. Three years later, these Aztecs are making all the history to make up for what that team couldn’t do.
Boasting what is likely the best defense left in the Tournament field, the Aztecs are a powerful, unselfish, and deep team that knows how to win games and punch people in the mouth. Matt Bradley is the star on offense and the only player who averages double-digit points per game, but he only had 6 points against 1-seed Alabama and his Aztecs teammates didn’t let him down. Darrion Trammell, a point guard transfer from Seattle, has been exactly the missing piece San Diego State needed while Nathan Mensah is simply one of the best defensive players in the country.
The Aztecs didn’t have many chances to prove their were among the nation’s elite, especially after drawing and delivering against Charleston and Furman in the first two rounds of the Tournament. Their Friday night upset of Alabama, the #1 overall seed in the Tournament, certainly changed that narrative. This defense is deadly and the offense gets enough done, even when their best player has a terrible night. Pieces like Trammell (21 points against Alabama) or Keshad Johnson or Micah Parrish are there to pick up the slack on both sides of the ball.