San Diego State Basketball: 3 keys to beating Florida Atlantic in the Final Four
By Joey Loose
Establishing Matt Bradley
San Diego State is a very balanced team, that’s the bottom line. This lineup legitimately goes nine deep and can probably get strong play out of more players than that on this roster. The Aztecs are an elite defensive squad who do just enough on offense, getting offense from a variety of contributions. Their only double-digit scorer this season has been Matt Bradley, the former California transfer who’s averaging 12.5 points per game this year.
Bradley was First Team All-MWC and was MWC Tournament MVP this season, but his play in the NCAA Tournament has been less dominant. He’s played a significant role all season for these Aztecs and did have 17 points and 7 rebounds in their opening-round win over Charleston, but his role was far less involved last weekend. It took him nearly the entire game to get going against Alabama, scoring just 6 points. Two days later, he played his role in their defeat of Creighton in the Elite Eight, but Bradley scored just two points in the win.
It’s important for the Aztecs to get contributions up and down the lineup, but they’ll need a better effort from their leading scorer. They’ve shown they can with other players like Darrion Trammell standing out on the offensive end, but it’s now or never for Bradley. The Aztecs are in the Final Four and will need a breakout performance from their top scorer, whose shooting numbers have been woeful these last few games. Say this team continues to play like they did against Alabama and Creighton, an increased performance from Bradley might be what propels them into the national title game.