San Diego State Basketball: 3 keys to beating Florida Atlantic in the Final Four

Control the pace

What San Diego State has already done in this Tournament has been impressive, defeating the #1 overall seed in the Tournament in the Sweet Sixteen and getting sweet revenge over Creighton in the Elite Eight. These were two hard-fought battles and the Aztecs absolutely had moments where they looked out of it in both games. However, San Diego State fought back in both games, including quite the run late against the Crimson Tide in that win.

What’s important against Florida Atlantic is for the Aztecs to control the pace. San Diego State is a very tight defensive squad that plays at a slow burn of a pace. Their suffocating basketball allowed them to get back in control of that game against Creighton, as they locked down the Bluejays’ offense after a hot start. These Owls play slightly faster than the Aztecs and have had late runs in nearly all of their Tournament games to help them put these games away down the stretch.

Clearly, San Diego State cannot allow the Owls to score in transition or take advantage of those lapses in defense. Florida Atlantic already defeated a Tennessee squad with an elite defense and match up better than expected against the Aztecs. If San Diego State plays smart basketball and takes care of the ball, then they’ll be in a great position, especially with their suffocating defense. They just can’t allow this to get into a more shootout-type game, especially with the way some of their shooters have been playing recently.