What to Expect

Frankly, it will be an ugly first half of basketball. A 70,000-seat football stadium will be jam-packed with fans, media, and celebrities, and the jitters will be at an all-time high for both programs. The Aztecs have gotten off to slow starts a couple of times this tournament, although Brian Dutcher has done a great job of settling them down and finding a way to lock in. 

The Owls have played in plenty of close games during this tournament, with each win coming by less than 10 points. The Aztecs, meanwhile, won three by single digits but blew out Furman by 23. 

This is yet another high-powered offense against the grueling San Diego State defense. The Owls rank 14th in points scored and 32nd in PPG (78.4) while sitting 15th in rebounds (35.9) despite having one of the smaller overall lineups in the country. 

The Aztecs have allowed an absurd 57.5 PPG during their four-game tournament stretch, and even top player and future top-5 NBA Draft pick Brandon Miler shot 3-of-19 against this group. 

Yes, the 57-56 final score in the SDSU-Creighton game isn’t pretty. But that’s the exact type of game the Aztecs hope to play, and it’s worked so far. If Dutcher and his staff can contain the Owls, slow down the pace, and dominate the paint, they move on to the national title game. 

The Owls start four players under 6-foot-5, and that could be a tough draw against a lengthy, physical Aztecs team. However, 7-foot-1 center Vladislav Goldin might be difficult for the Aztecs, although Nathan Mensah was able to limit Ryan Kalkbrenner in the Creighton game.