NCAA Tournament 2023: Ranking each of the Final 4 teams – who is No. 1?
By Joey Loose
3. San Diego State (5-seed)
San Diego State was not supposed to be here either. They were ranked in the preseason and have consistently been the Mountain West’s best program in recent years, but a Final Four run? It was just three years ago that San Diego State was one of the best teams in the nation and would’ve had a high seed before the pandemic cancelled the Big Dance. This year’s team didn’t get off to that same kind of start but have been just as effective down the stretch this season, winning the MWC Tournament and securing that 5-seed in a tough region.
First, the Aztecs were paired with one of the best true mid-majors in the country and held on late to beat a Charleston team that won 31 games this season. The second round was the Aztecs’ easiest game, winning by 23 against a Furman team that had upset Virginia two days earlier. The Sweet Sixteen was San Diego State’s toughest test and they passed with flying colors, charging back late to secure an upset win over Alabama, the overall #1 seed in the Tournament. The Aztecs then got sweet revenge on the team that knocked them out of last year’s tournament in the opening round, getting a last-second free throw to upend Creighton and advance to their first Final Four.
Matt Bradley averages nearly 13 points a game and is the only double-digit scorer in a really deep rotation. Former Seattle guard Darrion Trammell has been the point guard this team has dreamed about while Nathan Mensah was again MWC Defensive Player of the Year. Names like Lamont Butler and Micah parrish and Keshad Johnson make play after play on both sides of the ball.
This Aztecs team is the first team in the history of the MWC to make the Final Four, which in itself is an incredible stat. Head coach Brian Dutcher returns to the Final Four thirty years after watching Chris Webber’s illegal timeout that cost Michigan in the 1993 championship game back when he was an assistant with the Wolverines. There are a few names here from that 30-win 2020 team, but this crew has proven that they belong with stifling defensive play and just enough offense against Alabama and Creighton down the stretch in those big time wins.