HOUSTON — March may be when the madness happens, but the NCAA Tournament national champion will be crowned on April 3 when the UConn Huskies and San Diego State Aztecs take each other on starting at 9:30 PM ET.
It’s the first ever matchup between a four seed and a five seed for the title, and in fact only one four seed has ever won it all – the Arizona Wildcats back in 1997. No five seed has ever held the championship trophy.
In a season filled with parity, it’s no surprise to see so many records being broken. Locked on College Basketball hosts Andy Patton and Isaac Schade discuss the rarity of this meeting between the Huskies and Aztecs, while also providing key matchups, potential unsung heroes, and score predictions.
UConn Huskies vs. San Diego State Aztecs
Date: Monday, April 3
Time: 9:20 PM ET
TV: CBS
Odds (per FanDuel): UConn -7.5
Key Matchups: The frontcourt battle between UConn’s Adama Sanogo and San Diego State’s Nathan Mensah is perhaps the most critical of the game, as UConn has been able to dominate on the low block all tournament long – even against talented bigs like Drew Timme, Norchad Omier, and Mitchell Saxen.
Add in an extremely qualified backup in Donovan Clingan and you have an advantage for the Huskies, but that hasn’t stopped San Diego State from playing well on the block in previous games.
The other big matchup here will be SDSU’s three point defense, which ranked second in the country prior to their game against Florida Atlantic, when the Owls were able to get a lot of good looks from deep in the first half.
The Aztecs won’t be able to get away with poor perimeter defense for any stretch against the Huskies, making that a key element to watch on Monday evening.
Score Predictions:
Andy: UConn – 81, San Diego State – 72
Isaac: UConn – 80, San Diego State – 69