Is San Diego State's Trip to Final Four a Symbolic Win for Pac-12?
Should the Pac-12 claim San Diego State’s trip to the Final Four as a virtual win for its conference?
And should former Cal standout Matt Bradley, San Diego State's only all-conference player, be considered the team’s key component in the national semifinals despite his struggles the past two rounds?
Ultimately, San Diego State earned its first ever trip to the Final Four when Darrion Trammel sank the second of two free throws with 1.2 seconds left, giving the Aztecs a white-knuckle, 57-56 victory over Creighton in an Elite Eight game Sunday afternoon in Louisville, Ky.
The ending was filled with controversy, but we’ll let others address whether a foul should have been called and whether the clock was officiated correctly after that. We’re focusing on the Pac-12 and Bradley.
For the past eight months, since UCLA and USC announced that they are moving to the Big Ten in 2024, it has been speculated, rumored, reported and suggested that the Pac-12 will add San Diego State to the Pac-12 and make the Aztecs active members of the conference when the Los Angeles schools depart.
Since none of the four Pac-12 schools in this year’s NCAA tournament made it to the Elite Eight the Pac-12 received only four tournament units, which ultimately lead to money for the Pac-12 members a few years down the line.
So obviously if San Diego State were a Pac-12 member it would add to the conference’s prestige and financial reward. Here is how Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury-News explained the “units” structure.
The Pac-12 finished March Madness with seven units (or games played), an unexpectedly low total given that it sent four teams into the field and had two No. 2 seeds (Arizona and UCLA).
Each unit is carried forward for six years and worth about $2.2 million in revenue to the conference over the duration of the payout cycle. (USC and UCLA do not receive their shares once they join the Big Ten.)
NCAA units are an important source of cash for the campuses. The Pac-12’s woeful postseason performance over the past five years (with one exception) will impact budgets.
Units earned by year:
2018: 3
2019: 7
2020: No tournament
2021: 19
2022: 7
2023: 7
You would have to think San Diego State's performance in the NCAA tournament made the Aztecs even more appealing to the Pac-12.
San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher brought up a subject on Saturday that could affect the Aztecs’ recruiting if it joins the Pac-12. The issue is the amount of travel USC and UCLA athletes will have to endure to play games in the Big Ten.
Here is what he said, according to ESPN.com:
"Even though [our flight] was a charter, I thought, my goodness, those guys have to do this every other week to play a basketball game? It would be exhausting," Dutcher said. "It's going to be a real challenge to be at their best with that kind of travel. I'm wishing them all the best, but that's more travel than I would ever wish on anybody."
The inference is that Dutcher could attract top-level southern California recruits to San Diego State – and by extension the Pac-12 – by telling them they wouldn’t have to experience that exhausting travel if they come to San Diego State.
OK, so let’s move on the Matt Bradley.
He transferred from Cal to San Diego State following the 2020-21 season, after averaging a team-leading 18.0 points for a Golden Bears team that went 9-20.
The move to the Mountain West Conference was worthwhile for Bradley, who led the Aztecs in scoring both seasons he's been there and went to the NCAA tournament both years. He was San Diego State’s only first-team all-conference selection this season and figured to be their postseason star.
However, that has not happened. In Friday’s upset of Alabama he was 2-for-9 from the floor, although he did score six critical points down the stretch of that victory.
Sunday was a different matter. Bradley was just 1-for-8 from the floor, finished with a season-low two points and was not on the floor for the final 7:40 of this tight game even though he was not injured or in foul trouble. He merely watched from the bench as his teammates overcame the four-point deficit the Aztecs faced when Bradley left the court for the final time.
Nonetheless, Bradley still has a chance to be a star next Saturday in the national semifinals when everybody will be watching and players produce moments that last forever. He might even claim to be a national champion.
Bradley would not have had that opportunity at Cal.
The Controversy
Here is a video of the disputed foul.
A note on the last-second controversy in which the officials ruled the game was over:
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Cover photo of Matt Bradley by Jordan Prather, USA TODAY Sports
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