NCAA Basketball: How UConn, Miami, FAU and San Diego State got to the Final 4

The Aztecs have had a suffocating defense in the NCAA Tournament

Much like guard play in March, another basketball adage is that defense wins championships and the San Diego State Aztecs are two wins from proving that is the case. Brian Dutcher’s team won the South region in Louisville dispatching the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed Alabama in the process.

The Aztecs have always been one of the best defensive teams in the country, but what they have done in their first four games has been ultra impressive. They defeated four teams that put up more than 76 points per game, with the first three putting up over 80. They began by holding Charleston to a season-low 57 points and followed that up by holding a Furman team to 30 points below their average by giving up just 52 points. In the Sweet Sixteen against Alabama, they knocked off the No. 1 seed by holding the Crimson Tide to just 64 points, a total they’ve only failed to reach twice this season. In the regional final against Creighton, once again they held the Bluejays 20 points below their average and just 56 points.

In their first four games, the Aztecs have held their opponents to just 34% shooting from the field and in this age of three-point-heavy teams, just 17% and 16 makes from beyond the arc. San Diego State’s defense is not just good, elite may not even be a good enough descriptor, but with two more wins a couple of adjectives will certainly fit, historic and championship-level.