NCAA Tournament: 5 key storylines for Florida Atlantic vs San Diego State matchup
Clash of styles
As the old boxing adage goes, “styles make fights.” If that’s also true in basketball, then this game is going to be really fun. Florida Atlantic is a young team, with only one senior on the entire roster. San Diego State is one of the most experienced teams in the tournament, with seven seniors and two juniors making up its nine-man rotation.
San Diego State makes its living on defense, ranking fourth in the country in defensive efficiency according to KenPom. The Aztecs have the #2 ranked three-point defense in the country, and they’ve shut down the offensive stars they’ve faced in the tournament. We already mentioned what they did to Brandon Miller, but they followed that up by holding Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman and Ryan Nembhard to 19 total points on a combined 6-18 shooting. Nembhard had torched Baylor (the university, not the Scheierman) for 30 points in the second round, while the sharpshooting Scheierman put up 21 against Princeton in the Sweet 16. San Diego State slows the game down and takes every basket personally.
Florida Atlantic has shown that they can play any type of game, winning a defensive rock fight against Tennessee, and an up-tempo affair against Kansas State. They have been led by dynamic guard play from Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin, and stout interior play from Russian big man Vladislav Goldin. Kansas State had no answer for Goldin, helplessly watching as he dunked and rebounded his way to a 14 and 13 line.
The battle of Davis and Martin vs. SDSU’s guard combo of Darrion Trammell and Lamont Butler is one to keep an eye on. Davis has been the Owls’ best player, scoring more than 17 points per game in the tournament while repeatedly showing an ability to get his own shot in the half-court. Martin is the kind of astonishingly athletic guard you would expect to see at Duke or Kentucky. He rose up for an explosive dunk against Kansas State that almost blew the roof off Madison Square Garden.
Trammell averaged just under 10 points per game during the regular season, but in the tournament, the 5’10” Seattle transfer has gone off. He scored 21 and was the best player on the court in the Alabama game, plus he was entrusted with the ball in his hands on the final possession against Creighton, hitting the winning free throw. Butler also stepped up against the Bluejays, pacing the Aztecs with 18 points on 8-11 shooting.
One thing to watch for is which team can take control in the last five minutes. Both the Owls and Aztecs are outstanding in tight games, with Florida Atlantic holding an 11-1 record in close contests, and San Diego State just behind them at 11-2. These are smart teams that know how to execute in crunch time.